Raconteur's Ripple
by Fukachi no Rin
Summary: Alexa was once a happy fanfiction authoress, until she angered outside forces and got thrown in a video game. Yes, it's a Self-Insert. Originally titled "Regrets of a Self Insert"
1. It's all a Dream, Right?

**Hey, guys, I'm back here. Okay, to those who saw my first attempt at a self insert, well, guess what: I'm redoing it. Well, what I mean to say is I felt it was a failed attempt, and that the character was reacting too coolly to the sucked in a video game phase, and in addition, that she was turning in a Mary Sue. So, here's the result at a second attempt on self-insertism. **

**EDIT: Alright, I'm putting this as a precaution number one-hundred, I changed the title. I have my reasons for why, and could ramble on for another one hundred words why, but I won't. So, here's the fanfic! **

**~Fukachi no Rin**

* * *

**RR - Raconteur's Ripple**

* * *

I almost found the situation at the time ironic. Somehow, I had managed to drag myself into this situation. My fault, my actions that led to this roller coaster ride.

Ah hell with the metaphors. Let me just skip to the beginning.

One day, I was bored. Great way to start off a story, eh? I was bored! Mathematics homework only put me closer to sleep, and any other subject appealed less to me. Deciding to break the horrid boredom, I had picked the lock into my brother's room and stole from his shelves a random game. It was for the Gamecube, thank goodness, and after stealthily leaving the crime scene, I had put the disc into the old system taking residence in my room.

Mistake number one.

After I began playing the game, I immediately became addicted and beat it over that week. In between school and such made it difficult, but I managed. After beating it, I still had a craving for more, and after checking online, I had found out about the eight multiple endings.

Mistake number two.

Tales of Symphonia kept me entertained for hours on end, and after I had finally gotten to the Flanoir scene for the second time, I had dropped the Gamecube controller in surrender for another few weeks. I had decided to read up on fanfiction, on my favorite site, Fanfiction dot net! After browsing through various stories, mostly bonding, I had run across another story, a _Self Insert._ I had a vague idea what self inserts were: Mary-Sue infested 'works.' I hated Mary Sues with a flaming passion, as I knew many other readers did. Therefore, I avoided the fanfiction for as long as I could until… well, forty-eight hours off from school led to some crazy events.

I was entrapped by this new fanfiction, and could hardly wait to read anymore. I had learned something: that Self Inserts _could_ be written and at the same time avoid a Mary-Sue. With this new information, I eagerly reached for my computer and began to type.

Mistake number three.

After starting my own Self Insert, I found out it wasn't as easy as I thought. As I typed further and continued to update, I realized that the character (aka me) I had created was nothing more than a pain in the ass Mary Sue. Eventually, I got to the point where I had to destroy the disaster, and completely eradicated it from any hard drives I had. And so that ended the beginning of this nightmare, the start of this mess.

I really should've just stuck to doing my homework…

* * *

I tapped my pencil against my textbook multiple times, and let out a huge groan. Study for exams was a pain. I pushed my textbooks off my bed, over the side. They fell with a 'plop,' and pressing my chin against my arm, I moaned, "I'm bored!"

Boredom wasn't something uncommon for me; I had waves of boredom regularly. It was something part of my daily life…

I took one look at the homework, now cast away at the ground, and then in front of me, at the small one foot by one foot screen television. Usually, I kept entertained by writing fanfiction on my computer. Unfortunately, I didn't feel much like writing anymore. Self insert were still on my mind, and after my last one had gone up in flames… I shuddered, refocusing my attention to the system next to the television. The Gamecube was still connected, and the game I had played a few weeks ago had yet to be removed.

"Might as well," I sighed. I slipped off my bed, and pacing to the television, I flickered on the screen and tossed the controller onto my bed. Next, I reached to the Gamecube, and placed my finger on the power button. _I'm probably going to regret this…_ I shrugged and pushed down the button. The game began with the introduction, and I reached for my controller to skip past that. After getting to the title screen, I selected "New Game" from the menu. The screen dimmed, and then the prologue began.

"Most people would be studying if they were you." I jumped at the sudden voice, and turning away from my television screen, I almost screamed at the new individual standing two feet in front of me. "Well, that's a reaction I haven't gotten in the past few millenniums."

"Who the hell are you!?!" I shrieked, pointing at the mysterious figure.

"Oh please." The beautiful woman flipped back her waves of blue hair, and her deep violet irises disappearing behind the blink on her gorgeous face, she responded, "If you're going to freak out, please quiet down, _Mademoiselle_."

"You speak French?"

"French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Latin, a bit Dutch, and English. I'm also educated in the fighting arts, receiving the title of Master in many different styles. Unfortunately, I've always found killing another human being so cruel…" I blinked once, and looked over the stranger in my room. She was incredibly pale, to the point where it gave her a porcelain look. She vaguely reminded me of something… "But enough with that. Do you know who I am?"

"Um… A weirdo that I'll be calling the cops on any second from now?"

"No." The elegant person bowed gracefully, and I remember what she reminded me of. A Mary Sue. "I am your Muse."

"My what now?"

"You muse," she replied, frustrated. "Or at least I used to be. I was the one who gave you inspiration in your latest story, the one where a human is brought into the world of Symphonia."

"Oh."

"Oh? Oh?" The girl's eyes flashed red, and a dark atmosphere suddenly surrounded her. "Is that all the thanks I get, for all the assistance I granted you?"

"Sorry. I'm actually waiting to wake up. I guess that darn Chemistry textbook put me to sleep again…"

"You are not sleeping!" The woman crossed her arms in front her chest, her eyes slanting. "I am very much here, as your Muse, and I am here to tell you-"

"Hey, do you think when you return to muse land, you can tell the Study Muse I need a bit of inspiration?"

She gasped. "Well, I never have been so offended!"

"Listen-" I began. "I honestly don't care. I hated writing that story. The plot was clichéd, the story itself boring, and the main character was a total Mary Sue. I was a Mary Sue and I don't regret deleting that menace!"

"You honestly think that my hard work is allowed to be trampled on so easily? Do you think I'll allow this to go unpunished?"

"Well…" I shrugged. "You aren't really here, so…"

"I am very much here," she warned darkly. "And I am now here to prove it. I will not allow you to insult me so freely." Something began to pick up, a breeze around me. The screen to my left flashed, and the prologue to the game restarted.

"What the hell?"

"You, Alexa, have misused my inspiration. You have insulted it, and now it is time to meet your punishment." The wind began to pick up, throwing my hair up in awkward directions. "I hope you enjoy this, Alexa."

I looked around me – the surrounded had changed very much. It was like I was being surrounded by many events, and they were being played out in front of me. They were scenes from Tales of Symphonia – one was of Lloyd and Colette with the coffee, another was of Yuan telling Lloyd Kratos was his father. I saw Mithos kicking the asses of the entire party for the first time, and even Sheena's duel. There was a sudden white light, and it began to surround me, as the room's spinning continued on.

* * *

"Ackkk…" I let out the stupid sigh. "Weird dreams, huh? Goodness, I really should try harder studying…" I lifted my head, and gaped. Where was the Chemistry textbook I usually kept in front of my eyes while studying? My goodness, where was _my bed?_

I sat up, and looking around me, I found myself surrounded by trees and grass. To my right was a leather bag, and I took in a deep breath. Okay, maybe I just slept walk.

I took one look at myself and noticed something. My outfit had changed. Instead of the flannel pants and a black tank, I was dressed in tan shorts, white ankle boots, and a wide sleeved green shirt. The shirt had white square imprints around the edges, the shorts were loose and had multiple pockets, while a bag resided over my shoulder. I checked my hands: black fingerless gloves covered both of them, and on the back of my right hand was a golden mount and a red gem glowing faintly.

A bush to my right rustled, breaking my daze, and I stood up on my feet. "Uh, hello." A friendly voice came from the teenager clad in red in front of me. He had messy brown hair, a boyish face, two swords at his side, and brown suspenders. From behind him, a white haired child stepped forward, and looking at his blue clothing, I immediately recognized both of the game characters.

_Why are there realistic game characters standing in front of me?_ "Oh, I get it. I'm still dreaming!" I was part of that dream still, and these two were just a continuation of it. I smiled at my brilliant deduction, and confused looks from both 'Lloyd' and 'Genis' were given.

"Dreaming?" Genis replied. "Can't you tell you're awake?"

"Well, that's what I thought at first but I guess I was wrong. Sorry guys, I'll be ending this dream really soon. I've gotta study that Chemistry still…"

"Um… We're not part of your dream. You're awa- Look out!" Lloyd pointed behind me, and I turned around. I saw it too late – the generic wolf stalked from behind me, and lunging into an attack, its mouth bit into my leg.

I yelped, and the wolf withdrew its teeth stained from my own blood. I scrambled onto the ground, and Lloyd put himself in between the wolf and me. "I got this."

I wasn't concerned too much about him. Lloyd Irving, well he could easily kick the butt of a measly wolf. But something else concerned me…

There was pain. A lot of it coming from my leg. I watched the blood trying to clog the wound now left by the teeth of the animal. I began to recall the countless experiences I had. No matter what happened in a dream, you **never** felt pain. That was a given fact. But still, the wound here in front of me hurt, hurt like a bitch, as a matter of fact.

The reality of the situation came onto me as I fainted.

**Ironic, eh? Longer chapters to come... after I finish studying for exams....**


	2. Mirages and Muses

**Yes, I'm back, on another inspiration rush! Thanks to both AquaticWings and The Eccentric Otaku for being my first reviewers! You guys are giving me the motavation to post this train wreck! Here's the next chapter, next one to be coming when... well I get another inspiration rush. Happy Holidays!**

* * *

"Well that was a little bit of an overreaction, don't you think?"

The laugh of the female voice rang through my ears, the one who originally claimed to be my "Muse", and I groaned. "You're not supposed to exist…"

"Yes, I am," she replied matter-of-factly. "I guess you can say that I exist outside of your world, of mystical forces. Of course, I hoped you figured that much out. How would I be able to transport you here otherwise?"

"You could've slipped some magic mushrooms into my food…"

"Keep telling yourself that, love," she said affectionately. "Welcome to Sylvarant, Alexa, your new home until you completely the quest."

"By quest, you mean…"

"Oh, until the reunification of both worlds. You are not allowed to give any "spoilers" as you would call them, by the way. Not any without my approval."

"You're approval?" I snorted. "Fine then. Let me just tell Lloyd-"

"No. If you do tell anyone anything for now, I will send you immediately to the moment you wake up in Sylvarant. Back in time, as you would put it. Of course, after a while, it will change to 72 hours previously. This is under worst case scenario, of course."

"Whaat? That's no fair!"

"Just remember – as long as you play by my rules, you shall leave sooner. My time's up. Tata, my dear Alexa!" She laughed once more, her voice ringing like bells in a gentle breeze.

"I swear, when I find you, you're dead!" I growled. The silence around me began to fade, and other sounds, both from people and nature alike, came to my ears.

"You think she's okay?"

"She doesn't seem to be bodily injured. And the wolf doesn't look like it had rabies or anything…"

"Should we bring her to a doctor?" Aha. Lloyd was speaking. It took be a while, but after hearing the disparity between the two voices' pitches, I had been able to pick out one from another.

I opened my eyes, and after taking a few seconds to look both left and right, I shot up. The bright sunlight hurt my sight, and after squinting, I found my eyes adjusting. "Ow, ow…" There was a burst of pain coming from my leg – I looked down and found a thick bandage wrapped around it.

"His handiwork," Lloyd turned his thumb to Genis, who looked down, embarrassed. "You okay? You took a nasty bite back there…"

"I'm fine," I replied.

"My name's Lloyd Irving, and this is my friend, Genis Sage," the friendly brunette said.

"Alexa… Embers, but you can call me Alex." I had pulled the last name off of my last insert – unfortunately, my real last name was to remain shrouded. "Hey, sorry about that dreaming thing. I sorta woke up from a nightmare, and was still adjusted to that…"

"Oh, it's no problem," Genis assured. Wow, this wasn't going too bad. "We're actually wondering, have you seen a group of travelers?"

"Um…"

Lloyd started the descriptions. "One would be a teen girl with long blond hair in a white dress-"

"Another a young women with white hair and in orange," Genis added.

"And the third a guy in purple with 'arrogant swordsman' written all over him."

I bit my lip, pretending to be thinking on the subject. "There was a group…"

"Really?" Genis's eyes lit up. Wow, this _was_ pretty easy. "When did you see them? Where did they go?"

"I had to pass them a few hours ago. They were headed to the south, to Triet, now that I think about it."

"Thanks," Genis said enthusiastically. "See Lloyd! We didn't miss them by too much! We could probably still catch up with Colette if we hurry!"

"Yeah," Lloyd agreed, his eyes saddened. He probably was still depressed about Colette lying to him. "Maybe we can…"

"If you don't mind-" I began. "Could I tag along?"

"Huh?" Genis looked surprised. "Why?"

I thought up a story right on the spot. It wasn't too difficult, considering my mind was always able to come up with crazy things. Hell, it was my teachers who always said that I often would look at situations in my own special way (whether this was a compliment or insult, I never knew myself…)

Anyway… "Well, I have a problem. I've been traveling for a while, you see, and… Well.. I was camping outside of the desert a few nights ago, and I got some of my things stolen," I started. I turned my head down, trying to act sheepish. "Well, my sword at least. I usually sleep holding my bag, but the thieves managed to grab my weapon laid aside me…" I was getting stares from both of them. "I know it sounds like I'm asking for an escort, but… we'll actually, I am. I kinda need to get to a city to replace my weapon, but I'm pretty much screwed if I get attacked before that. Sorry for asking this of you, but, could you please let me tag along for a little while?"

"I don't see a problem with it," Lloyd replied. "But we're sorta in a rush, and it would help if you don't drag."

"Thanks," I smiled.

Genis looked like he was about to protest, but he didn't. "Well," Lloyd punched a fist into the air. "Lets go!"

* * *

"It's too hot!"

Genis snickered at my complaints, and making a face, he managed to cast a spell. Balls of mana formed around him, and each broke over Lloyd's or his head, the water cooling both of them. Lloyd smiled thankfully at Genis, and I responded to the smug half-elf's expression with a glare.

The desert itself was an oven. No joke. Every pain filled step I took in this place of sand, I felt like I would spontaneously combusted, or dry up into a withered soul. None of this was pleasent. I felt a bit dizzy until Genis offered me a wave of Aqua Edge. I agreed, and after having the water poured on my head, felt a bit more connected to the soil beneath me.

"So Alexa, why are you traveling?" Lloyd asked after the hours of walking we had covered.

"Huh?" Yep, that was the genius reply that came from me.

"Well, I mean, why are you not in some city like normal people? Are you on a pilgrimage?"

"Oh, no," I replied, thinking. I wasn't sure how to start my story. If memory served correct, usually the inserted characters would create a falsified story in order to keep them allowed to travel. Unfortunately, I hadn't come up with mine, yet, anyway…

"There must be some reason why you were out in the forest," Genis pressed. He seemed to be getting suspicious, that sharp kid. Sometimes, I hated geniuses.

"There is," I replied. _My beloved Muse sucked me into this world because I apparently insulted her!_ "I… uh…" _Come on, Alexa! You're a fanfiction writer! Creating crazy stories for entertainment is what you spend your free time doing, for cryin' out loud!_ I began to refer back to my other ideas, that ones that beloved Muse had given me when I was originally writing my first Self-Insert… "I was actually on my way to Iselia when I ran into you guys."

"Really?" Genis piped. Lloyd had a tortured look appear on his face as he turned his head to the sand. "We're from Iselia! Why were you heading there?"

"Well, I was from Palmacosta originally," I replied. "I went to the Academy there, for a few months anyway. I got kicked out for bad grades, and… sleeping during class."

"You got expelled?" Genis blinked in disbelief.

"Education there wasn't for me," I replied. "Besides, the professors smelled and the amount of work they expected was outrageous! Anyway, some other professors told me that if I wanted to get an education, I'd have to leave the continent to find a teacher to accept me. So, I went into the records, looked through the files, and found some information about a Raine Sage who was teaching a small school in Iselia. I left Palmacosta a few weeks ago, to be truthful. I was almost at Iselia, but I saw some smoke coming from that direction, and..."

"You ran into us?"

"Well, yeah," I replied. "I'm guessing there was some real chaos there. So I didn't want to go there for a doctor: they probably have their hands full. It's mostly because of that and loosing my weapon that I chose to go with you guys."

"Well, I don't know if this is good news or not for you but… Raine Sage is my sister," Genis told me. "We're actually going off to meet her. She may take you as a student if we ask."

"That's awesome!" I replied, trying to hide my horror. _What had I done?_ Sure, this did help me as far as getting on the team went. But if Raine did agree, I would actually have to learn and study over the trip… Damn it!

Lloyd looked up at the sky. "It's getting late. We should probably set up camp."

* * *

We ended up camping in the middle of the desert. We had no real idea where we were, only that we had further to go. That evening, I slept on my back, my bag acting as a pillow, while listening to Genis and Lloyd banter. Listening to the two made me realize how much like brothers they were; I guess sometimes, cell-shaded pixilated graphics can't catch everything.

When we had left in the morning, Genis had prepared a fruit dish. It was light, and didn't leave your mouth dry. We would need that. The desert was as brutally hot as yesterday.

"Any idea how much longer until we reach Triet?" I tried to ask casually. There was impatience in my voice, despite my effort to hide it.

"We probably will get there in another few hours," Lloyd responded. "So what are the plans as far as Triet goes?"

"I sorta need to get my foot looked at," I replied. "..And I need to replace my weapon." I sighed, and after bowing my head for a minute, I looked up. My eyes widened – in few meters in front of me, a women with distinct blue hair stood. "You!" I threw my bag to the ground, and began running forward. The woman smiled at me, that stupid Muse, and like an illusion, I passed right through her. "W-what the hell?"

"Alex!" Genis and Lloyd came running up to me, Lloyd carrying my backpack. "What's wrong? Why'd you start running?"

"I-I," I stammered. "I thought… She was standing right there!"

"There's no one there," Lloyd told me, looking at the empty space.

"You most likely were experiencing a mirage," Genis informed me. "Mirages are illusions usually created in deserts, and are associated with the heat."

"Oh," I replied blankly. I knew we were in the desert, and that mirages were likely. I passed my basic elementary science classes! The only problem I had was... I took my backpack from Lloyd and looked back up at the sky.

I wasn't fully convinced that she was a mirage.

We arrived at Triet a bit later, but as soon as we had, Lloyd and Genis had hidden behind Noishe and gotten safely to the animal pen. I looked at the billboard, and finding the Desians grouped there, I yelped and tried to step away. Unfortunately, they had heard me… "Hey, you, girl!"

I tried to look as casual as I could. "Y-yes?"

"Have you seen a human in red called Lloyd Irving?"

"W-what? L-Lloyd?" I stammered. "N-nope. N-never heard of him before."

"You're lying," he replied, his voice cunning.

"N-no, it's just I injured my leg recently and…" I faked a limp. "I need to get to a doctor… It really hurts…"

"Humph. Inferior being… If you see a boy dressed in red, find a Desian authority and tell them." I nodded weakly, and the group of Desians walked by. One of them was placing a poster on the billboard – I hung my head as they walked away.

Now that I thought about it, this really reminded me of _The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past_. After the beginning, soldiers had posted wanted posters everywhere and told people to contact the local Hyrule soldiers if they saw him... Lloyd and Genis came out from underneath the pin, and I ran to them, trying to act stupid. "What did you do to piss off the Desians?"

"What? Well… There's a story behind that…"

Genis paced over to the billboard, and after glancing at it, said, "This is perfect!"

Lloyd turned his attention away, and asked, panicked, "What? Does it really look like me?" Lloyd got to his friend's side, and looking at the poster, said, "...Am I really this ugly?"

I peeked over their shoulders, and almost burst into gales of laughter. The wanted poster looked more like one of those cheap cartoonist sketches than anything. "I dunno..." I began. "Something seems a little off. I think its the hair."

"What? The hair's probably the _most_ accurate thing of this whole poster!"

"No, the whole thing is wrong," Genis replied, a smirk on his face. "Don't you see, Lloyd? No one will ever think that this is you!"

"I don't know..." I started. "I think the buck teeth and after shave paint a very accurate picture."

"What?" Lloyd touched his top teeth, and rubbed his neck. Yeah, Lloyd, you'll be able to feel an after shave when you are wearing gloves.

"Now's not the time," Genis said. He tugged on Lloyd's sleeve. "We should hurry, before we get caught by the Desians."

"You're right," Lloyd agreed, pulling his hand away from his face. He looked relieved.

"I got an idea," I proposed. "You two go look to see if you can find any information about Colette. I'm going to find a doctor, to look at my leg. There's an oasis in the middle of the town – can you guys get a few refills of water?" When they nodded, I added, "Meet back at Noishe's pen before we go, and be careful, okay?"

"We'll be careful," Genis responded. "Lloyd, lets start with the Inn."

"Ok. Hey Alex, how did you know-"

Genis grabbed Lloyd by the arm. "Come on!" And after a tug of war, the boy dragged him off.

Lloyd grumbled, being pulled away by his good friend, and I quieted a laugh. I, myself was a bit more concerned over another issue rather than the Desians. Lloyd had begun a very interesting question... Did I slip somewhere in my last words? After thinking about it, I shrugged it off. _There's no way…_ I walked to the left side of the town, looking over the signs of each store. I found both an armor and weapons store, and I checked my bag. I didn't have lots of money, unfortunately… After finding a sign that read 'Medic,' I stepped into that store. "Hello? I was wondering if someone could look at my leg. I don't have a lot of money…"

"I can check it for free." A tan woman with her long hair braided behind her stepped from behind the counter, and she said, "Seat yourself over here. Prop you leg over onto the stool."

I did as I was told. After going to the side of the room, she came to me, and finding the blood stained bandaged, she began to unwrap it. I flinched at the disgusting wound left behind, from the wolf's bite, and she sighed. "How did you manage this, _Mademoiselle?_"

"Well, I sorta got attacked by a – _what did you just call me?_"

The woman smiled, and her hand glowing, she placed it on the wound. It immediately healed over, the skin weaving itself together, hiding the flesh once exposed. "This is your freebee," she informed me. "After this, I won't heal you anymore. Why aren't you with Lloyd and Genis?"

"They went ahead to the fortune teller's place. It should take them a few more minutes before they find out where Colette headed," I replied, wincing a bit. Despite the magic behind the Muse's spell, it still stung a little.

"Unfortunately, you don't have as much time as you think." She sighed, and she grabbed something from behind her. "Your weapons. I apologizing for not sending you here with any – consider it a welcome gift from your good friend."

"I hate you," I responded. She laughed, and flipping back her hair, streaks of blue began to pour into the hue. Sparkles of color surrounded her, and she suddenly disappeared. "Stupid Mary Sue Muse!" I yelled after her.

"_Shouldn't you be at the front of the town?"_

"Depends. Do you want me to get captured?"

"_The choice is yours."_

I quickly took out the weapon she gave me. Not weapon – weapons. One was a belt with a dagger connected to it – I immediately put that on over my shorts. The second was a pair of weapons, both a deep red hue. They were poles, arms length, with another short pole sticking perpendicular a few inches from the ends. There were two pouches attached to my belt, where I assumed to put them also.

"_Their called tonfa,"_ she informed me. _"Now get your butt moving!"_

I threw the tonfa into their holders, and bursting out the door, I began to run. I could hear a few voices – Genis was warning and Lloyd was laughing it off. "Lloyd! Genis!" I waved to them, and Lloyd being the only one who caught sight of me, waved back. My eyes traced down, and I caught sight of the unconscious Desians laid on the ground.

"Hey Al-" Lloyd's voice was cut short, as a beam of full-blown electricity hit him from the back. I jumped, and running, I jumped over the fence of Noishe's pen. The protozoan looked at me, and after a whine, I pushed two fingers to my lips, signaling him to quiet down.

I crouched behind the walls, and peeked over the edge. Lloyd was being carried by one of the De- no Renegades, while Genis was being pushed along. Each of them was equipped well, with weapons, armor, and such. I could _try_ to attack the Renegades from behind. The chances of me surviving though… I looked at my hand. The Exsphere and the weapons, the weapons that I had no idea how to _use_… both were not enough.

I looked at Noishe, and staring into his eyes, I said, "Do you want to help out?" He stared back at me, and I asked, "Can I ride you?" With a complete understanding mindm, the protozoan lowered himself, and I jumped on his back. "Come on, Noishe," I whispered. He began to walk, towards the wall of Triet. He stopped, however, and his nose pointed to the ground, he whined. "What is it?" I asked. I looked at the ground and saw something something shine. I jumped off Noishe, and picked up the object; it was a necklace, with a red pedant in the middle, and gold on the outside. The gem in the middle was partly broken, and turning it over, I found a small hinge. _It's a locket…_ I opened it, and almost dropped the note from inside.

_Happy Birthday Colette! Sorry about giving this to you a bit late. Remember I'll always be at your side to help Regenerate the world!_

_Lloyd_

The handwriting was messy by itself, but it was readable. I put the folded note back into the center, and stuffing the locket into my pocket, I proceeded to jump back onto Noishe's back and nudged him to run onward.

* * *

The Renegade Base was a bit further away from Triet than it was in the game – a whole hour, in fact. Noishe and I stayed a far distance behind the Renegade soldiers escorting both Lloyd and Genis. When we came to the outskirts of the base, Noishe and I waited at the end of the path. Mercifully, we were not caught. I waited patiently, for the Renegade soldiers to release Genis. The doors to the base opened and both Lloyd and Genis were marched into there.

"What the hell?" I hissed, mostly to Noishe. "They were supposed to release Genis. Why did they…" I looked back at the door. It had closed, locked for now. _If this isn't a plot twist, I don't know what is…_

I considered my options. I could try going in there and rescuing them. Unfortunately, my survival rate was only a bit over nine percent. Option two was running away and never speaking of this moment again. _Okay, that's not even an option_. My only option that would let me live... I gulped. I had trouble enough gaining the trust I had gotten from Lloyd and Genis. That is, if they trusted me at all. Colette would believe me, and maybe Raine, if I managed to use the right words. But Kratos... Hah, I'd be lucky if he didn't decapitate me at first sight. "What do you think we should do boy? Should we try to find your master?"

Noishe stared at the closed door.

"I mean your other master. The moody one."

Noishe looked at me, and taking that as a yes, I nudged him with my knee. "Come on. Lets go then."

**Please feel free to tell me whatcha think. Just want to see if anyone has any suggestions, comments, criticism! **


	3. How to Annoy a Seraph

**This has been the most difficult chapter I've EVER had to type for a fanfiction. I had deleted it, rewrote it, deleted it, rewrote it, deleted it AGAIN, and then threw a plushie against my wall. This is the version I came up with - despite the feeling that I didn't keep the suspicion continuous, I'm posting this. Longest chapter I've ever written, folks. Hit the eight page on the Word Doc!**

**ShadowVCP: I'm glad you think that this is good, and I do hope you continue to stay with it. ;)**

**The Eccentric Otaku: Still loving the name, by the way. Haha, I'm glad that you think that this fic is good, and [please correct me if I'm reading it wrong] that you think it should have more reviews. Glad I sent some gales of laughter in your direction: makes me happy to know my attempts of humor are not in vain. Here's the update you waited for! [Ignores the whole Perverionism thing...]**

**AquaticWings: Haha, I can't give any spoilers right now. You'll just have to see what happens.**

**Commandant of the Heart: Glad you like the background story friend. And Miss Muse will get a name, eventually. I have a name in mind, I just haven't found the perfect timing for revealing it. **

**And to everyone else, all opinions are taken with open arms! I'm attempting a new style of humor: if you have any thoughts, please tell me what you think! Happy Holidays to all; Merry Christmas and God Bless!**

**~Fukachi no Rin**

* * *

I honestly had no idea if Noishe knew where he was going. Some part of me was completely and utterly putting my faith into the green and white protozoan – the other part was panicking. What the hell was I suppose to say to convince a duo of two overly cautious adults that I wasn't there enemy? Okay, maybe their over-caution had a reason… They _did _have to protect the Chosen, after all. But still! I let out an exasperated sigh.

When I was stuck coming up with a story for Lloyd and Genis, it had been easy. I had a story already thought out from a long time ago. Unfortunately, I didn't think that stunt would be easily pulled off this round. As it stood right now, I needed to figure out what I was going to say to them that would reassure them I wasn't a stupid Desian... or Renegade.

_I have two tools I can use… Noishe and…_ I pulled out of my pocket the necklace I had picked up from the Triet gates. Thank goodness Lloyd had dropped this – it was probably the only proof I had met Lloyd and not only his eccentric looking "dog."

Noishe barked (I believe that was what you would call the noise coming out of his mouth) and I looked up. Oh great. Crap, crap, crap. Damn it! We had managed to catch up with the three, the blonde teenager and two adults. I wasn't finished coming up with my side story yet… Damn!

Noishe barked once more, and I saw one of the figures – take a guess who – looked over their shoulders. They caught sight of Noishe immediately, and I was sure an expression appeared on their face that exact moment. Hopefully seeing his companion from over four thousand years ago would have Kratos hesitate killing the person riding him. Noishe came to a stop, behind the three, and I could make out a friendly female voice asking, "Professor, isn't that Lloyd's pet?"

Noishe gave me a light bash against my shoulder and I responded with sighed. They recognized him, obviously. The woman with silver hair – Raine – turned her attention to me, and asked, "Who are you?"

Well that was rude… Placing my hands on my hips, I demanded, "Who are you to be asking my name?" I took my hands away from my hips, and sighed. "Sorry, I stole that from an acquaintance of mine. Sounds a bit cooler when he says it."

"Does your acquaintance-" Raine started, her voice with an edge already. "-own this pet?"

"Well, I guess," I said, glad she had immediately connected me to Lloyd. "Although 'own' is a bit of a harsh way of saying it."

"Oh, so you know Lloyd?" Colette was oblivious when she asked, and Raine looked like she was about to shoot her a look. Colette put out her hand. "My name is Colette. Please to meet you."

"Alexa. A pleasure." I took her hand and shook it. When I looked at Colette again, I noticed she was just as I had pictured her – she was slim, about my height, and had a friendly smile on her face. She didn't look like someone who would be a descendant of the angels; she looked more like a normal teenage girl with a cheerful atmosphere around her.

I released Colette's hand. "Listen, I know that you guys don't know me, but could you first hear me out before you start labeling me as an enemy?"

"You gave us no reason before to," Raine responded simply. Okay, bad thing to say on my part. Whatever…

"My name is Alexa," I repeated. "I'm from Palmacosta. I've been traveling with Lloyd and Genis since yesterday. They were looking for a group – your group I suppose." When I received a confused look from Raine, I elaborated. "They asked me if I had seen a group of three travelers, one with long blond hair and in white, one with silver hair and in orange, and one in purple with 'arrogant swordsman' written all over him." I received a glare from Kratos, and shuddered. That guy was scary as hell in real life!

"I see…" Raine said, her voice thoughtful. "Go on."

"Well, I sorta lost my weapons the previous night, so Lloyd and Genis allowed me to tag along. Bandits had grabbed my stuff… Anyway, we began traveling to Triet. We arrived there this afternoon, and there were some Desians… They were posting wanted posters of Lloyd, and the three of us broke off into two groups. I went mainly to replace my weapons while they checked the Inn and other parts of the town to ask if anyone had seen… Well, you Colette."

I felt weird, explaining my past two days to these three. It was like a diary, except I was trying not to let out anything that would hint I _wasn't from here._ "Continue."

I nodded at Raine's request – she had been listening intently. "When I went to meet Lloyd and Genis by Noishe's pen, they had just finished a battle with some Desians. Some other soldiers – I'm guessing it was a back up group – came from behind them and zapped Lloyd. Noishe and I followed them to a base, and both Lloyd and Genis were brought in." _They were suppose to release Genis… Damn Renegades…_

"So basically, Lloyd and Genis were taken by the Desians, and you're asking us to help them?"

I nodded. "I know it sounds out there, considering you don't know who I am, but please believe me. I would've gone in to save Lloyd and Genis myself but… I'm not a good fighter. I can't fight a bunch of magic using half-elves… I'd get slaughtered."

Kratos had remained silent this entire time, much to my surprise. It was Raine who had asked most of the questions, Raine who was giving the most signs of suspicions. "One last question: why do you think they took Lloyd and Genis?"

"As far as Lloyd goes, they were putting posters up around the town and sending search parties, so I'm guessing that Lloyd… well, pissed off the Desians somehow. As for Genis, I honestly don't understand why they didn't release him."

There was a short silence for a few minutes, and I heard Raine clear her throat. "As believable as your story is, I am not convinced it isn't a trap." Raine herself looked like she was very conflicted. She was probably concerned, for her brother. Part of her was afraid that I was telling the truth. She knew if I was telling the truth, her brother was in trouble. I wish I could get her to see that I wasn't lieing…

"I am convinced you are attempting to decieve us." Surprise, surprise. Kratos was suspicious. What gave it away? The fact I'm freaking out about you guys not believing me or the impossible situation I was in? "You have traces of mana on you, mana from the magic user from Iselia. Assuming that he is the same person as the boy you speak of, then we can come to the conclusion that he attacked you with a magic based attack." Kratos' sword slid smoothly out of the sheath, and I felt my stomach drop. "You are a poor Desian indeed…"

Both Colette and Raine looked shocked, as I probably did. Genis' mana was on me? When did that… I slapped my head. "Wait! I can explain!"

Kratos lunged, slashing his drawn sword forward. I yelped, and the Exsphere on my hand glowing, I grabbed from my belt the weapon given to me by the Muse. The tonfa flew across my body, blocking the metal sword just barely.

I didn't get much of a chance to sigh in relief, for another attack was coming. I tripped over my own feet, landing ever so warrior like on my back. The sword was pointed at my throat – I had lost this battle in a matter of two seconds…

Kratos was giving me his famous death-glare used so much on Fanfiction dot net. Ok, maybe now was not the time for references; I gulped uneasily. I really REALLY didn't want to die here. Unfortunately, the pointy object almost pressed to my throat was telling me otherwise about my fate... Kratos turned his head for a second – Colette had tugged on his cape.

"Mr. Kratos… I think we should trust her…"

"Chosen…" Kratos said, his voice deep. He didn't seem surprised by her approach, almost as if he was expecting the blonde to step in.

"Noishe likes her. I don't think Noishe would be so nice to her if she was the reason Lloyd's in danger…" Colette turned her head to me. "I believe you. You don't seem like a bad person. Besides… If Lloyd's really in trouble, it's my fault for lying to him. If I had just told him the right time, he wouldn't have been searching for us…" She looked to the ground, a faint blush appearing on her cheek.

Kratos turned back to me, a new expression approaching his eyes. He was considering, I guessed, the consequences of skewering me if I was telling the truth. _You better be reconsidering, damn it! Lloyd's you fucking son! Show some fatherly concern!_ Kratos turned to sheath his sword, and said in a completely monotone, "It is only my job to protect the Chosen. If you go to the Desian base, I will follow, to make sure you are safe." It would've sounded nobler if I didn't know both that we were going to a Renegade base and that Kratos was going to betray us to Cruxis in the end.

When Colette turned her puppy-like eyes to Raine, the teacher only shook her head. "I still don't know… You may be a Desian…"

"If I'm a Desian, then…" I thought of an appropriate ending to the statement. "Ah, hell with it. I'm not a Desian. I'm pretty sure that Desians don't let _humans_ into their programs, unless they want to be worked to death on at the Human Ranches." I took in a deep breath. "Desians are mainly half-elves, and half-elves have a certain type of mana coming from them. I thought you guys would be able to tell that much about me."

I received a thoughtful look from Raine, who verified, "She's not a half elf. She's definitely a human." Of course, I knew what was going through Kratos' head. _He probably suspected that I was working for the Renegades, an organization made up of humans and half-elves… Unless he wants to giveaway his true identity, I guess I win this time._ "I am curious though, why was my brother's mana on you?"

"When we first entered the desert, I was sweating like mad," I informed her. "Genis was casting Aqua Edge on the three of us, to keep up from suddenly burning into flames." Raine nodded – I _think_ she believed me. "I can lead you to the base."

"Please do."

So in the end, my prediction came true. Colette believed me, as expected. Raine believed me as far as this situation went – I think I managed to pull off the right reasoning. But Kratos… I looked over my shoulders. _Yep, he's still glaring daggers at me._

* * *

The trip to the Renegade Base had been mostly silent. Probably because the question withier or not I was trustworthy lingered in the air. I rode on Noishe, slowly this time, followed by Raine, Colette, then Kratos. We hadn't run into any monsters as of recent – for that, I was very thankful.

"There it is," I whispered as the entire base came into sight. Never did the video games give the real building justice – instead of a stubby little blur of blue, there was a huge shining sapphire building standing in front of us. Two tall steel doors remained closed at the entrance, and the four – counting Noishe, five – stopped in front of the path. I jumped off his back, and said, "Go to Triet, boy. It's not safe for you here." Noishe gave me his blank look, and after I hugged his neck, I said, "Thanks for your help. You're a good friend." Noishe barked, and spinning around, he fled, heading in the direction of the desert oasis. I smiled – I would miss him.

"How are we going to get in?" Raine asked.

"I'm assuming through the front door," I said, pointing at the closed steel doors. Raine rolled her eyes.

"How are we going to get them opened?"

"We could always knock them down," I suggested, doing a karate kick forward. The two adults stared at me like I was crazy, and I turned my head to the ground. "I'm sorry. It was a bad suggestion."

"I have an idea," Kratos proposed.

Ten minutes later, after a quick draw of straws, I was standing in front of the steel doors, clenching two sweaty fists. Ok, we didn't draw straws. Colette had originally offered, but was told by Raine she was too valuable. Kratos had somehow managed to exclude himself from the role picking, and when it came down to Raine and me, I was told it would be better if I went, since I had an Exsphere and weapon. Yeah, like that would help. I had no idea how to use my new weapons, and was more likely to hurt myself than bring damage onto my enemy. Wonderful reasoning skills were in process.

I lifted a fist, and hit it against the steel doors. I heard the noise echo, and shaking off my fist, I sighed and began to sing. "I want to be, the very best, that no one ever was!" Yes, I was singing this. "To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause!!!!! I will travel across the land, searching far a-" The steel doors slid open smoothly, and exiting from the doors were five Renegade soldiers. They all surrounded me, and I felt a bit uneasy.

"Who the hell are you?" one of them spat. I crossed my arms over my chest casually.

"Good question. Worthy of a formable answer."

"I know this kid!" One of the Renegade soldiers said. "She was in Triet, with that Lloyd Irving kid!" Wow, I was famous.

"Should we bring her in?" Another Renegade soldier asked.

"Lord Botta only wanted Lloyd Irving."

"Yeah, but-" The man stopped speaking, as he dropped down, defeated. Kratos drew out his blade, slicing through the second Renegade soldier.

I felt something flick against my face; I lifted my hand to feel it. It was blood. I wasn't one that was afraid at all times of blood, but death was something else. To end a life terrified me. Yet, Kratos here moved with ease, defeating all five of the soldiers with his blade. He didn't seem even effected by the fact he had killed someone.

Colette and Raine ran up to us. Colette seemed shock by all the death around her, while Raine remained unfazed. "Check their pockets," she said, her voice commanding. I nodded weakly, going onto my knees next to the heavily bleeding the soldier. I checked his face, and wished I hadn't – he was still alive, in obvious pain. His jaw was clamped tightly, as he gritted his teeth together. Looking away from his face, I dug through his pockets. I pulled out a few coins – Gald, I assumed – and a couple of gelatin like discs.

Raine took the items from me, as my mind continued to remain numb. She urged us to move on, and after a long hesitation, I pushed myself onward, following behind them.

After getting through the first room, we had taken the first hallway and hung a left. This led to a room filled with monitors and seven or so Renegades. Colette managed to knock out a few Renegades, Kratos got the rest. I tried to contribute, but I soon realized I was useless. When I tried to attack one soldier, I almost got slashed through many times, only barely making it through alive. Kratos defeated the soldier I had tried to take care of – my fighting skills were worst than pitiful.

"There's Lloyd and Genis!" Colette pointed at one of the monitors. Lloyd and Genis were in the room with the Gamecube and electricity where you rotated the rings to line them up with… ah, who the hell was I kidding? I didn't understand that room myself. When I had reached that place, I had spent hours trying out different combinations until I was able to move on.

"You were telling the truth," Raine realized, staring at her brother on the screen. She looked at the keyboard, and typing extremely fast, she entered in a combination of keys and phrases. A hologram popped out, and she pointed at the rooms. "This is where we are," she said, pointing at one of the multiple segments. "This is where Lloyd and Genis are." I groaned. They were across the base!

"How in the hell does one manage to get that far away from the exit?" I moaned. No one really paid attention to me: if they were, anyway, they were doing very well hiding it.

"It looks like the quickest route will be to go through the main hallways…" Raine mused, looking at the monitors at the same time. "The main hallways are crowded though… we'll never make it through fast enough."

My eyes scanned across the room carefully, and stopping at an object up near the top of the wall, I said, "I have an idea."

* * *

"Quickly! Intruders have broken through the fifth wall!"

"Damn! Just how strong are they?!"

"Bad news!" A Renegade soldier ran through the crowd. "I just got a report – Kratos Aurion is with them!"

Hearing a couple of soldiers curse very loud, I peered through the cracks of the vents. Raine managed to find the layout of the air system in this building. There was a clear path, according to her, if I crawled and took a combination of turns. After I was nearly thrown up by Kratos, I managed to begin traveling through the tin ventilation system.

"Someone inform Lord Botta!" The leader of the four commanded. "Damn, we're all screwed if he catches us."

The metal was cold against my knees and palms as I continued to crawl on all four. The Renegades had some seriously air condition! Seriously, how did they afford this! It would have to cost around a million dollars a month just to keep this building at this temperature! Then again, it was more than probable they where using magitechnology… Well, no wonder Sylvarant's mana was in such a decline!

I got through the fifth intersection, and peering through another vent, I saw the line-up-the-orbs room. I was getting closer, as far as I could tell. I climbed through the next vent, and the cold air made me shiver. Voices echoed from below: the hallways beneath me were even more crowded then the ones previous to this… _I hope Colette and the others will be okay…_ Well, I knew that Kratos could handle the situation – the over four thousand year old Seraph would be able to handle a few foot soldiers. However, I was a bit doubtful that he would be able to do all of this _and_ continue to hid his angelic powers…

I stopped over a final vent, my breath catching short. "You're… Lloyd?"

Yuan's shocked voice hit my ears, and I looked down through the opening. I was right over the room, Yuan's office. I could see Lloyd and Genis, Genis hiding a bit behind Lloyd. Each had their weapons out, ready to attack within a moments notice. "And if I am?" Lloyd asked, wielding his wooden blades closer to himself.

"So what if he's Lloyd?" Genis squeaked, holding his kendema close. I heard Yuan's chuckle fill the air – hearing it in real life made me realize it was more along the lines of amused than evil.

"Hmmm… I see the resemblance…." Yuan spoke. Well, I'd hope you'd recognize the resemblance! I'd be concerned if he couldn't recognize the son of his best friend from over four thousand years ago. I leaned my weight more against my hands, trying to get into more of the conversation. His head turned up, and I heard him say, "Who are you? Show yourself!"

From what I could see, Lloyd and Genis looked like they were questioning the man's sanity. Lloyd checked around the room once, making sure there wasn't anyone else. Yuan looked directly at the vent, and lifted his arm, beginning on of his spell. He was just speculating, right? There's no way he'd know I was… I leaped as far back as I could while the energy ball hit the ceiling. All support I had on my front side was gone.

"Oh sh-" I was cut off as I fell down the ceiling. I landed with a deep thump, on top of a pile of rubble. That and…

"Alex?" Genis exclaimed, both surprised and confused. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, rubbing the back of my head. _What did I land…_ I looked behind me, and jumped to my feet immediately. "Oh shit…" I ran over to the other side, partially behind Lloyd. The angry Seraphim stood up on both of his feet, his face decorated by the particles from his ceiling.

In real life, Yuan looked very different from the game. Instead of the little chibi face he had been placed with, his face was more angular, more defined. His hair had less shine and was pulled closer to his scalp before put into a ponytail, which was also longer than demonstrated in the game. His cape didn't stay in one place – actually, it look loose on him, wrinkles spread across the fabric not lying against his frame.

Why was I paying attention to his appearance now? Well, Yuan looked like he was ready to kill me, no exaggeration needed. I gulped, wishing for the others to show up. The door behind Yuan opened, and Botta entered through the door, at his flanks a Renegade bowman and swordsman. "Sir! We have received information that the_ Chosen's group_ has infiltrated the base!" He said, putting emphasis on 'Chosen's group.' Codeword: Kratos is here.

Lloyd looked at Botta at once, and suddenly I saw the gem on his hand begin to glow. Oh no. No, no, no… I had written this before, in my own Mary-Sue fic. I was really hoping this happened. "You're…" There was a mysterious growl coming from Lloyd's voice, and I stepped back uneasily. "You're the Desian that attacked Iselia!" Lloyd charged, his… new metal swords unsheathed. I took a quick look at the metal – he didn't have those in Triet…

Lloyd swung both of his swords at Botta, whom just took out his sword and blocked the Drifting Swordman's attack. He looked once at the blue gem mounted in the teen's hand and immediately reached the same conclusion Yuan did. "So, you're Lloyd. Now this is amusing!"

"Botta! I'm leaving! Our plans will be ruined if he sees me!" The half-elf turned his body, running for the still open door.

"What of the Chosen?"

Yuan stopped, but didn't look over his shoulders. "I'll leave that to you."

"Understood." Yuan exited, the door closing behind him. I grabbed from my belt my two tonfa, and looked at Genis.

"We got this," I murmured under my breath.

"Yeah…" Genis replied uneasily. "Totally… got this…" Genis didn't seem reassured. His mouth was still partially hung open in awe, as it had been since my crash and enter fall into the room. _We can't deal with this…_ "Ow!" Genis partially yelled as I stomped on his foot. "What was that for?"

"Getting you out of your daze," I replied to him matter-of-factly. Genis rolled his eyes – he was back in reality. A small circle began light up around him, and Genis began to chant.

The older man pushed Lloyd back, further away from him. Botta didn't look like he was having any trouble dealing with the blow the teenager had tried to deal – it probably didn't contain a huge amount of power, being only filled with raw mana from the Exsphere.

Genis' spell was interrupted as a crossbow bolt whizzed right past his head. The bowman that had entered the room with Botta was reloading his weapon, when Genis asked, "Could you cover me?"

"I could try," I responded. I bolted across the room, holding onto my weapons by the handle. I jabbed the crossbow with my right tonfa; it budged a little, but didn't end with the result I was aiming for. Looking up at the taller man, I saw his look of disgust, and received a firm kick to the gut.

Pain extended from my middle across my chest, and the world began to blur. _No… not yet…_ I grabbed onto the man's leg, and yanked on it. He immediately lost his balance and I released his leg in time for him to fall on his back.

"Fireball!" Genis finished the spell, hitting the Renagade swordsman on the head. The man fell unconscious, and Genis gave me a thumbs-up. I smiled weakly – my stomach still hurt from earlier… "Alex, watch out!"

The Des- wait no, Renegade – I had hit down earlier was back on his feet, and turning around, my Exsphere kicked into my reflexes. I jumped to the side, the shot crossbow bolt skimming against my upper right arm. The pain from my stomach was nothing as a burning sensation exploded from the new wound exposed on my arm. Lloyd – coming out of nowhere literally – hit the Renegade from behind, rendering him unconscious.

"Alex, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" I lied, the tips of my fingers tingling. "Pay attention to him!"

Lloyd turned around, and catching sight of the hulking gorilla man behind him, reminded himself the fight was not over. He charged forward, his Exsphere glowing. "Tiger Blade!" he roared, jumping high into the air. He dove down, pointing his second sword towards Botta head.

What happened next took place in a blur. Botta had lifted his sword arm, blocking Lloyd's attack, and at the same time punched the stomach of the teen. Lloyd had flown back, directly hitting a bookcase before slumping over on his stomach, the books piling on top of him. "Lloyd?" Genis called, his voice panicked. "LLOYD!!!" There was no response from the pile behind us – Genis turned an angered expression at the man in front of us. "You…" I could feel a huge amount of power welling up around the little half-elf. His brow was furrowed infustration, and he began to bounce the ball of his kendema. A circle formed around him, as power steadily grew.

Botta began to stalk forward, not moving at a particularly fast speed. Genis remained unfazed, keeping his concentration concrete. It was then it hit me. _He's not going to finish his spell at this rate…_

I leaped forward, forgetting the fact I could barely use the weapons I wielded, forgetting the fact I was fighting a man with a sword larger than I was, forgetting the fact that he had managed to defeat Lloyd with one punch. It was reckless, yes, and very stupid. I was stopped by the man's hand, and then thrown across the room. "Alexa!" The scream pierced through my mind, and I yelled back:

"Finish the damn spell, Genis!" Something hard hit against my back – a flower pot? _Never imagined Yuan to be the one to keep flowers around…_ I could here two metal doors, followed by the footsteps of those who entered. _Do they have to step so loud…_ Magic began to fly, as swords clanged against each other. A wetness was dripping over my brow… It was warm, I realized as I blacked out.

**http:(slash)(slash)www(dot)thebamboovillage(dot)com(slash)students(slash)tonfa(dot)gif**

**A basic idea of what Alexa's weapons right now look like. For those who do not know what tonfa are. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Part of the Team

**Another slow chapter - finished after deleting and rewriting another one. I like how this one came out compared to the old one: mostly because it skips the boring dialogue part in Triet Inn (I know I sound cold, but they don't have to spend ten minutes on Raine getting an Exsphere; we had Genis for long Exsphere stories.) Anyway, I will be trying to get another chapter out somewhere over the weekend, before the vacation ends. Not making any promises though. **

**The Eccentric Otaku: Hehe, funny story behind that song. I actually had checked my email when I was writing this and got a message from my bro about the Pokemon theme song, and thus that is how it was added! I loved that song in my childhood: it would be the coolest song in all time... if it wasn't about Pokemon (laughs). Glad you thought I did well with the explaining and fight scene. The same goes to the humor. And yes, Alex landed on Yuan. And she would've gotten _killed_ for that if it weren't for the timely entrance of Botta. You're not an impatient person, by the way. And also, I don't think I put this earlier, but I think your fanfiction has potential. :D**

**ShadowVDP: Okay, one-thousand apologies for messing up your name earlier. I'm sorry! D: I think my finger slipped when I was typing, or I read your name wrong. Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! (Glad you thought the chapter was cool, by the way.) Sorry!**

**Commandant of the Heart: Thanks. I wasn't sure how I did on the whole interrogation and rescue thing. And I repeat what I said to Eccentric Otaku: Alexa landed on Yuan, and she would've gotten killed for that if it weren't for the timely entrance of Botta. Glad you thought the chapter was great!**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed: I really appreciate you guys for taking the time to drop a message! Also, a thanks to everyone who has been sticking around and reading this: I guess there are some other people reading this, right? Anyway, here be the next chapter, folks! Happy soon to be New Year!**

* * *

After escaping from the base, I had found myself fazing in and out of consciousness. It was like one of those times when you're somewhat awake, but you still don't want to get out of bed because you're so tired. Something like that, anyway. Of the times I woke up, I only remembered two: once when I was being bandaged by Raine, and the other time when Noishe was carrying me across the desert.

Next thing I felt was something tap against my head, and the words, "First Aid." For the first time, the curse of unconsciousness was taken from me, and I was back on this world.

"Wow! It worked!" Genis exclaimed. Raine gave him a half annoyed look, and he immediately explained. "No, I thought Lloyd might've screwed up while fixing the crest…"

One smack for Genis! Raine hit her hand across his head. "Alexa, how are you feeling?"

"Great, actually," I admitted in my own surprise. I sat up, leaning my back against the… headboard? I played back the events through my head. _After the Renegade Base, they stayed at Triet Inn where Lloyd repaired a Key Crest for an extra exsphere they had…_ I looked at Raine. "Did you cast that?"

"Yes," Raine smiled, her voice calm. "We found an Exsphere at the base, and Lloyd repaired a Key Crest in order for me to use it. We wanted to see if it worked, and because you needed some healing…"

I resisted the urge to say, 'You used me as a guinea pig…. Thanks.' I wasn't incredibly worried about sounding ungrateful: I was more afraid of what would happen if guinea pigs didn't exist in Sylvarant. "Well, thanks," I replied.

"You should get ready," Raine suggested. "We have a long road ahead of us, as it stands."

"We?" I repeated. "Meaning, you'll let me come?"

"Genis and Lloyd explained the situation to me." I looked over to Lloyd and Genis, giving them both a smile. "Your actions at the base showed us that you were trustworthy enough, to be brought along." _Insert metal sigh of relief here… _"If you really want to be educated, I'm willing to teach you. I'll be teaching Lloyd, Genis, and Colette during this journey, and I wouldn't mind another student. Especially one that came from such a high ranked school."

"Expelled from a high ranked school!" Genis corrected, calling from the other side of the room. I laughed, as did Lloyd and Colette. Somehow, I had been accepted onto the team.

* * *

Before we left Triet, Raine had given Lloyd and I some Gald to purchase some more water skins. We went from window to window before we found a place that sold some. It was the variety traveler's store at the front of Triet that was selling different drinking containers. We got as many as we could, and after that, went to the oasis to fill them with water.

"I hate this desert!" I moaned. I hung my head to the ground, pouting. The desert was hot, ok? I hated the heat, and would rather be frozen in an iceberg than be frying in the sun!

"So, what happened after I got knocked down?"

It was the most logical thing I could come up with, to talk about. Any sensible person would be wondering what happened after they got knock unconscious by a burly man with a huge orange sword! Well, I think that's what a normal person would be wondering. After they wrapped their minds over the concept of being in a video game itself.

"A lot of things happened," Genis began, starting the story. "After you passed out, I finished the spell, and hit that Botta guy. Kratos got into a huge fight with him, and won that with no problem while Raine looked at both Lloyd and your injuries."

I tried to act surprised at this news. "You had no trouble defeating that guy?" I asked, turning to Kratos.

"I have been in many battles, and have some experience."

Yeah, dude. 4,000 plus years of experience really does pay off at times. "We were able to sneak out," Raine added. "We stopped by the Triet Inn, where Lloyd and Genis explained to us why they were looking for Colette." She didn't go into any further detail about that part. "They also explained why you came, about how your weapons were stolen and how you were traveling to Iselia to be taught. They asked us to let you come as well, and for the most part, we agreed."

Most part, meaning majority. I had Lloyd and Colette on my side, no doubt. Those two had let someone who had intentionally tried to KILL THEM on their team, for cryin' out loud! Genis was probably on the whole 'let Alex come' side, and Raine probably remained unopposed to either decision. The only person who would've made a fuss would be Kratos, but he probably took on the whole "I'm a mercenary and don't have to deal with this crap" role.

We camped as soon as night fell. We had a small campfire that evening – Kratos had packed some firewood for the journey. Genis cooked a sort of rice dish for us, and we ended up eating around the campfire while Lloyd took an attempt at telling scary campfire stories.

"And when the dwarf entered the mine, he found everyone… dead!" Lloyd waved his arms in the air. "He tiptoed around, looking for the killer of his kinsmen. He continued to whisper the Dwarven Vows-" I snickered, and Lloyd glared at me. "What?"

"I'm sorry," I laughed. "But adding the Dwarven Vows ruined the mood."

Lloyd took away his look, and continued on with his story. "The dwarf crept up to an ancient altar, fearing for his own life, and just as he thought he was safe…" Lloyd made a dramatic face. "He heard a noise."

Genis and Colette looked like they both were really into the story – both of them were partially leaning closer to Lloyd. Everyone else looked disinterested. Raine was reading a book, not paying much of any attention, while Kratos looked mildly bored himself. "He called out to the darkness, 'Who's there?' No one responded, and the dwarf figured he had heard the wind. He began to exit the room when…" Lloyd inserted his own dramatic pause. "A giant…" Colette covered her mouth in horror. "Tomato…" You had to be kidding me. "Attacked him!!!"

There was a short silence across the party – disappointment was all over Genis and Kratos' faces. "That was a great story Lloyd!" Colette applauded. Lloyd stood up, and took a few deep bows.

"Thank you, thank you very much," he grinned. I heard an exasperated sigh come from Kratos, and Genis looked even more incredulous than before.

"Lloyd, that was the worst scary story I've ever heard!" the half-elf criticized.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Never become an author!"

"I concur."

Lloyd glared at Kratos. "If the three of you think it's so bad, why don't you tell your own stories?" Kratos stood up, his face unreadable. He began to pace to the ex-storyteller, and a shocked Lloyd asked, "Are you telling us a story now?"

"No," the mercenary answered flatly, grabbing Lloyd by the collar. "I'm taking you training." His eyes glinted back to the rest of us. "If any of you wish to join, you are allowed." Kratos yanked on Lloyd's jacket again, and proceeded to drag him away. The teenager was protesting, very loudly, and I saw a concern look appear on Colette's face. _Don't worry Colette. Kratos isn't about to kill his long lost son._

Genis murmured something about choosing life as his response; I picked up my belt, equipped with the weapons. "Where are you going?" Genis questioned, sounding more concerned for my sanity.

"I'm going to train."

"Are you crazy? You'll get killed!"

"And I'll get killed if I don't train." _Keep yourself resolved, Alex…._ And with that, I jogged after the two swordsmen.

* * *

"Alex! Run while you still can!" Lloyd shouted when he saw me coming from the distance.

Kratos didn't seem surprised by my arrival. "Will you train me?" I asked tentatively.

Kratos gave one short nod, and finally released Lloyd. "Lloyd, do you have those two wooden swords you had in Iselia?"

"What, those old things?" Lloyd rubbed the back of his head. "They sorta broke when we were in the Desian Ba-" Two sticks were thrown at Lloyd, and he caught them accordingly. "What are these?"

"Your practice swords," the mercenary told him, his voice blank. Ok, seriously, was there _anything_ this guy was not prepared for? He brought freaking firewood, some training sticks… "Alexa, will you be learning to fight with those?"

He indicated he was speaking about my pair of tonfa; I took them out of their leather sheaths. "Yeah," I replied, holding them across my arms. "I guess I will be."

Kratos nodded, glancing at the odd weapons, before turning his attention back to the two of us. "You two will spar, right now."

"Wait, spar?" Lloyd questioned.

"Um… Kratos, there's sorta a problem. I don't _know_ how to use these…"

The Seraphim cocked an eyebrow. "Why did you purchase them if you never knew how to use them?"

"Oh, well, you know… They were on sale, and they looked pretty safe as far as a first weapon goes," I lied, my voice shaking in different parts. I wasn't about to tell him that a suppose-to-be-mythical Muse gave them to me in Triet!

Kratos stared back at the weapons. "I have read about the items you posses, and would be able to teach you what I know," he offered, probably lying himself. I doubted any person could get bored enough to study various weaponry. Scratch that, I doubted any person in Sylvarant, Tethe'alla, or Derris Kharlen would ever get the bored.

"I'd appreciate any help I could get," I responded, faking the enthusiasm. My voice was still shaking at this point.

"Um, could we get on with the fighting?" an impatient Lloyd asked. He was waving around his wooden sticks, observing practically every angle of its wonderful woodiness.

"Yes, you may."

Lloyd didn't miss a beat; he came up, running, holding his twin sw- no wait, sticks - down. He lifted his right arm, swinging an overhead slice, and I brought up my arm. Wood hit wood, and the tonfa pressed against my arm with the impact. The second stick was coming up from underneath him, stabbing towards my stomach. I lifted my other arm, hitting away this sword as well.

I was a little impressed with myself. Not really with myself, actually, but the Exsphere. I had managed to get through so far without getting- A dull pain coming from my shoulder interrupted my thought process, along with another strike to my stomach. My arms wrapped my lower torso and I fell to my knees.

"Woah, I didn't hit that hard," Lloyd half coaxed, his voice brazen with his own pride.

I winced in pain. "You hit a bruise, you ass."

Lloyd's eyes widened, and the realization dawned on him. "Oh… Sorry about that… I didn't know-"

"Don't worry," I sighed. My mind flashed back to the battle, the one we had earlier with Botta and his duo of Renegade soldiers. "I had forgotten too," I admitted, remember the few gut shots I had received during that small battle.

Lloyd offered me a hand, and he helped me to my feet. "So, how were my sword skills?" Lloyd asked in a proud voice as Kratos paced over.

"Both of your forms were weak, your attacks were wild, and defenses were hopeless." …Well, at least we knew he was being honest with us. "Lloyd, when you are attack, keep two feet on the ground. Your balance is important in a battle."

Lloyd grumbled inaudibly at the criticism.

"Alexa, I didn't even see an attack on your part. You cannot win a fight by defense. You'd be better off running if you were to walk into a battle with defense skills like that."

"You sure about that?" I challenged. "Because you've never seen me try running."

"Yes, I have, and those skills are poorly practiced as well."

Lloyd began to protest. "Listen, Alex is still injured from the freaking Desian place! Can't you cut her some slack?"

"An enemy would not sympathize with you if you were injured, and neither will I. I suggest you two should adapt the same mindset, if you want to live through this journey." He didn't say it as harshly as he could, but said it more as an informative approach. He was trying to prepare us, I realized. Preparing us mentally.

Kratos drew his sword in the silence, and pushed his feet apart. "Let us start with forms," he said, flicking his weapon to the side.

* * *

Kratos mostly worked on that night the way both Lloyd and I stood when we were fighting, and how to move efficiently in battle for both dodging and blocking. It was a tiring night, especially when he realized that we both didn't have the necessary muscle for a warrior. He followed up our training with a series of exercises we were to execute every morning.

Kratos had given us a friendly 'this is only the beginning exercises; more repetition will be added as you get more used to them' reminder. Lloyd was acting all thickheaded and such, acting like this was nothing as an attempt to keep his title of best swordsman in the village. I, on the other hand, was dreading the thirty pushups Kratos had assigned. I hated pushups, and never liked to do them. I could fake about ten, never bringing my arms to full right angles, before I collapsed. Unfortunately, it looked like I would have to improve if I didn't want to get assigned more exercises to build up my strength for pushups.

"That was a long practice," Lloyd said as soon as he thought we were out of earshot from Kratos.

"Yeah," I replied. "Five hours?"

"That's what Kratos said." Both of us sighed in unison, dragging our slightly battered bodies to the campsite. "What do you think he means by 'this is only the beginning'?"

"Probably that things are going to get ten times worst really fast," I laughed without humor. Lloyd gave me a sideways glance, and realized I wasn't kidding.

"I thought training would be fun at first, but now I'm realizing it's boring."

I bit my lip. "Have you ever heard the phrase-"

"Practice makes perfect?" Lloyd interrupted. "Course I have, who hasn't?"

"Let me finish," I grumbled, kicking him in the shin. Lloyd was unfazed by my petty attack. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'it takes 10,000 hours to master something'?"

"Huh? No, I haven't. Why, should I?"

"Anyway, if you do the Mathematics-"

"I hate math," Lloyd grumbled.

"-it says we will become masters in about five and a half years." Lloyd gaped at me. "Meaning even if we practice five hours a day for the next year, we still have a long ways to go."

"Wow." Lloyd whistled, leaning his head back to the sky. "Guess we have a lot of training to do."

"Yeah," I sighed. "Hey Lloyd, this has been bothering me, but what day is it?"

"Huh? Well, lets see… Colette's birthday was about three days ago… Making it… December 18." So the calendar here did start on the day I had gotten thrown into the game. Colette's birthday was the day before… making it on December 15.

"This is going to be a long journey, isn't it?" I sighed. Lloyd gave me a quizzical look, and I said, "Never mind."

Deep in the back of my head, I heard a female voice say with no pity, _"Yes, it will."_

**Weird way to end a chapter; I just want to get a bit bonding in...  
Reviews, anyone?**


	5. Training and Deserts

**Soooo.... I felt this chapter is mostly filler: it has a few important events....(?) But mostly filler I guess.... And holy carp, vacation is almost over. I'm afraid to go back to school: I forget if we had homework or not! Hiiiiiide!!!**

**SymphoniaFreak:Glad you liked the chapter, and the group bonding.**

**The Eccentric Otaku: Thanks. :D Alex wants to live, thus the only reason she went to Kratos for training. Glad you liked the chapter and I hope this one is as good as the rest!**

**ShadowVDP: I won't be messing up your name for now on! Hopefully... Glad you thought it was a good chapter; yes, training 5 hours a day for five and a half years was the idea. However, that statement would also work for practicing around 2.5-3 hours a day for ten years... And I guess that's how most people would master anything! And.... I'm rambling here, aren't I?**

**whatsername427: Glad you like this fic! I hope I can keep the rest from getting worst as the story goes along though... (Nervous laugh)**

**Thanks for reviewing everyone! Here's the next chapter; enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Tales of Symphonia is property of Namco; I do not own!**

* * *

"Nineteen… Twenty…"

Lloyd crouched over. "You ok, Alex? You're starting to slow down."

"I know," I said through my teeth. Pain in my shoulders protested against this use, and I pushed myself down from the plank position. "Twenty-one…"

"You're almost there, Alex. Just keep it up!" I pushed myself back from the ground and gave my best glare. Stupid Lloyd, already finishing all of his exercises… I lowered to the ground, my arm stopping at a right angle.

"Damn it…" My arms began to wriggle unsteadily. I yelped as they gave way from underneath me and I fell on my stomach to the sand.

"Twenty-one and a half," Lloyd counted off. "Huh. You think you can get another eight and a half in after some rest?"

My arms felt like jello. "No." I rolled over onto my back, and sighed. "This sucks."

"Yeah, well, at least you got the other exercises done," Lloyd encouraged.

"For today," I groaned, my muscles already beginning to ache. "I don't think I'll be able to walk like this."

"You have to." The voice that said this wasn't from the teenager at my side, but rather from the mercenary stepping into conversation range. "Training is not meant to be easy. It is meant to improve your skills, so that you may use them in battle."

"Yeah, well, I got this down," Lloyd bragged, his voice filled with pride.

"Good," Kratos said, his voice empty. "Maybe then you're sword skills will improve. Now, if you'll excuse me…" He turned away from us and began to walk off into another direction.

I sat up and elbowed Lloyd in the gut. "You idiot."

Lloyd blinked. "What?"

"Now he's going to make training ten times worst! I barely kept up with what he gave us yesterday, forget making it any harder!"

"You'll do fine," Lloyd assured. I rolled my eyes, imagining the training that would take place tonight and shuddered at the idea.

It was the second day of the entire group walking in the desert, and it was a little better. Only by a little. The day had been a bit cooler, but still outrageously hot. Along with that, we had left earlier in the morning, a bit after dawn. Our meal: a piece of bread and fruit. The fruit acted as a quencher of the thirst created by the dryness of the loaf: leave it to Raine to figure out a good meal for the desert. Figure out, not cook.

"Hey Alex, what happened to your leg?"

I looked at my leg self consciously, and seeing nothing wrong, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Lloyd began. "You don't have that wound from the wolf bite."

Raine and Kratos were looking at me, suspiciously. "Oh, um, I found a person at Triet who healed my leg," I explained quickly.

"A healer?" Raine repeated.

"Yeah. They used something like your healing arts, Professor. There was a green light, and mana…" I wasn't completely lying here, making it far more convincing.

"Usually healing arts only speeds up the recovery of the wound." Kratos crossed his arms across his chest. "You don't seem to have a scar. I imagine the healer must have been very powerful."

"Well, yeah," I replied, rattling my brains. _Think, Alexa, think!_ "Well, they also used this gel looking thing over it while they were healing."

"A gel?" Raine asked. Geez, these two were ganging up on me. Why couldn't Sheena show up?

"Yeah," I lied, trying to keep my voice smooth. "They said it was a magical plant meant to keep the skin from scarring."

No one asked any questions after that, mostly because the conversation was going nowhere. What else could they ask? 'Did they Desians use some sort of highly advance magitechnology to heal you?' I wasn't even sure if that was possible to begin with!

After another day of walking in the heat, Genis prepared us a nice vegetable dish for our dinner. The dinner had been quite peaceful, with a moderately calm conversation going through. "How old are you, Alex?" Genis asked from across the campfire.

I hesitated at the question. "Fifteen."

Lloyd counted on his fingers. "So that means you're the… third youngest in our group!" He nodded, proud at himself.

"…No, she'd be the second," Raine corrected, indicating she was listening. "Colette turned sixteen recently, you are seventeen, I am in my early twenties, and Kratos is…" She paused, and looked at the silent man staring at his plate of veggies.

I resisted the urge to honestly guess, "Four thousand twenty five." I didn't need to give away I knew more than I should. "Um… he's like, fifty, right?"

Kratos glared at me, looking very close to wanting to kill me. Or maybe just cast a few Judgments…

Raine cleared her throat. "The only person Alexa is older than would be Genis, thus making her the second youngest." Raine took out from her bag a leather bound book, and opening it to a specific page, she began to read the text silently.

"R-Professor?" I asked. Raine lifted her gaze from the book. "What are you reading?"

"History of the Triet Ruins," she explained, returning his eyes to the book. "I'm sorry that we haven't had any lessons recently. Because we're in the desert, we have to travel swift, and I cannot give an education when the journey requires most of your energy to travel." She gave me a smile. "You'll have to wait a bit longer until you receive the education you were looking towards."

"No, that's fine," I replied, now for the first time glad this desert was so long. It was the only thing postponing Raine from finding out exactly how bad my Sylvarant history was.

* * *

As I had predicted, training today was worst than yesterday. The combination of exhaustion and soreness made me falling behind the blocking of Lloyd's practice swords. In other words, I was getting hit. A lot.

Kratos stopped our training somewhere around two hours into it. "Alexa, you will be attacking Lloyd now."

I looked at my weapon resting surely against my arms. "Um, Kratos, there's just one problem with that…"

"What is it?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know how to attack with these… _things_."

Kratos let out one exasperated sigh, and gestured for me to hand him the tonfa. "When attacking with these," he explained as I placed the tonfa in his hands. "It is important to remember the idea behind your weapons is to extend your range. Do you understand what I mean?"

I shook my head, honest. "I have absolutely no idea what you're taking about."

"Of all the weapons to choose…" Alright, so maybe I had annoyed the guy a little. But that wasn't my fault! Do you know how easy it was at this point to annoy Kratos? I couldn't sneeze without receiving one of his death glares.

Kratos held the small perpendicular handle, placing the long edges of the wood against his arm. "When you assume offensive, you use your hand to spin the handle-" He demonstrated, twirling the weapon while his hand remained encircled around the handle. "-and and grab it when you wish for it to stay in a certain form." He stopped it and gripped it with the longer side pointing away from his arm, hanging partly in the open. "This is where you must keep them if you wish to attack, and from there, you must use your arms to attack." Kratos moved his arms a few directions, as if he were slashing an opponent. He handed me back my tonfa. "Do you understand?"

"I sorta get it," I admitted, taking the weapons into my own hands. I spun it away from the guard position and tightened my grip as it lined up exactly with my straightened arm. It was like an extension of some sort… I moved my shoulders mostly to get a feel for the attacking.

Kratos nodded and turned his head towards Lloyd. "Lloyd, get on your feet. It is your turn to familiarize yourself with defending."

"Aww, come on, that's no fun! Besides, if you attack enough, the other guy would be too busy blocking-"

I looked at Kratos, who gave his approval. I rushed forward, lifting my arm to strike Lloyd over the head. Lloyd yelped, and rolled out of the way, leaving me to hit sand. "Alright, then." I got away from the sand and faced Lloyd now wielding out his practice swords. He gave me a grin. "Show me what you got, Alex!"

After another few hours of practice, we were released from Kratos and told to get some rest. Lloyd and I walked back to the campsite while Kratos stayed there to look at the stars. He would be returning to the site, no doubt, and just wanted sometime to himself. Lloyd told me I did I good job before he went to his bedspread. I, myself, collapsed onto the ground, and as soon as my head hit my pillow-acting-backpack, I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Day three of walking. Not so different from day two, only less walking altogether. Around midday, when the sun was right above our heads and cooking us to a nice crisp, an announcement of, "We're here!" came from the youngest of our group.

"The Triet Ruins…" Raine whispered in awe. "Fascinating. Simply fascinating…"

I looked at the ruins, something easily recognizable about them. What did this place remind me of… Egypt, maybe? Flaring sun in the middle of a wasteland desert with an obelisk being the only thing casting shadows in the area… Easily could be switched with one of these many pillar-column like things guarding the entrance to the ruins.

Which made me wonder: why did the people even bother designing such exquisite architecture OUTSIDE the city? Was it just out there to show off: hey, we have polycarbonate, and you guys don't! Or was it to mark territory? Hmm, I guess that would make a little more sense-

Two fireballs landed at my feet; I jumped back, alarmed. "Be on your guard, there are enemies about!"

Thanks for the warning, Kratos.

Two Fire Elements came out from behind one of the fallen pillars, both of them floating towards our group. "What are those things?" Genis asked, partly amazed as they began to cast their spells.

"Fire Elementals," Kratos informed him. "They are magic users. The only way to destroy them without using magic is to pierce their core when they lower their defenses." Wow, it was like having our own depressing Navi. Except Kratos wasn't nearly as talkative as the fairy…

One of the Fire Elements finished casting one of its spells, another Fireball. I leapt out of the way as the magic attack left behind a scorched block. "Aqua Edge!" Genis lifted his kendema, finishing the casting of the spell. The discs of water flew towards the Fire Elements, hitting each of their rocky layers and lowering their defenses for a mere second.

Lloyd and Kratos charged to the front of the Fire Elements. They both stabbed towards the core of the elements, and after the enemies timely shuddered, they broke into many pieces, defeated.

Kratos sheathed his sword and shook his head. "This is going to be a nuisance…."

Lloyd looked at Kratos after his statement. "What is?"

"Nothing. Anyway, it would be a good idea for you to learn techniques to protect yourself."

Colette seemed to be catching on. "Are you talking about self-defense training."

"Something like that. Techniques to raise your defense during battle. I'll show you how it's done. Once you grasp the theory, the rest should be easy." Kratos demonstrated his own Guardian, and proceeded to explain how to use the skill. All you really did was reach for the mana inside of you and use it to create a shield around you. I ended up eventually how to use mana, due to the fact it was something I had never used (nor existed) on Earth.

"You don't know how to use mana?" Genis blinked. I nodded wearily. "Well, it's sorta simple when it comes to the basic stuff. Mana is basically the energy and force surrounding you. When you use mana, your using the power you feel within yourself."

"Ok, I get it," I replied, thinking on the subject some more. Kratos distributed names for the defensive skills he had just taught (Guardian and such), and stopped when he came to me. "Um… what would I use?" I asked, the familiarity of the situation dawning on me.

"Because your movement with your weapons are similar to one of a blades, I would suggest Guardian," Kratos started. "However, if it isn't the right technique, you may have to find that answer on your own."

I made a face, a bit afraid of where this was going. I wanted to learn this technique, surprisingly. It looked like it would be the only thing protecting me from the magic attacks. Closing my eyes, I reached for the 'mana' Genis had described, the power quelling in me. I let out a breath, concentrating, and quickly bellowed. "Guardian!"

Nothing. Just like how I had written long ago, nothing. _I hate you, stupid muse…_ "I take that it isn't the right technique then," Kratos concluded. Well, no duh.

"Damn it! Guardian! Damage Guard! Protective Shield!" Nothing. "Magic Barrier! Fairy Aura!"

"…Fairy Aura?" Lloyd repeated in the middle of my outburst. He looked slightly amused by my slight temper tantrum, and wearing a mischievous look, he shouted, "Guardian!" A perfect form of the spell came up.

"…Shut up, Lloyd."

"Protective Aura…" Kratos pondered. I looked at him, and he repeated, "Protective Aura… try that."

I let out a sigh, and yelled, "Protective Aura!" A shield immediately appeared around me, green mana and all. I leapt in joy, accomplished.

"Nice job Alex!" Colette chirped, slightly bouncing herself.

"Yeah, you did great, didn't she Raine?" Genis looked around him. "Raine?"

"Is that her over there?" I asked, pointing at the altar-looking thing protruding out of the sand. Genis groaned, and ran over to his sister, grumbling part of the way.

"Look at these ruins! Polycarbonate, developed during the Ancient War to guard against magic!!!" Raine exclaimed as we approached the other remaining ruins. "It's wondrous! I simply must study it!" Raine crouched down to observe the stone.

Kratos took one look at Genis. "…Is she always like this?"

Genis turned one panicked look in Lloyd's direction, who, in a more concerned tone asked, "Is she?"

Genis groaned, admitting defeat. "I've been trying so hard to hide it!"

Colette had turned her attention to another object, the small pillar standing in front of her. "Professor, this stone has my family's crest on it…"

Raine's personality was drawn back, as she stepped over to the new object. "This depression… it reads "oracle stone…" Colette," she said after deciphering the weird symbols craved into the surface. "Place your hand here. It should reveal the entrance."

Lloyd looked at the blue stone curiously. "Really?"

"If this place is a seal, this stone should be enchanted with magic designed to identify the Chosen," Raine mused. Colette stepped forward, and placed her hand on the familiar depression. The door drew back, opening, and a breeze of trapped air escaped from the staircase.

"It opened! Wow! I guess I am the Chosen after all!" Colette beamed.

"Yes, I think we all know that already," Genis said, sounding a bit annoyed. I never understood why Genis felt the need to say this. I mean, he was suppose to be best friends with Colette here, not insulting her sarcastically before she went into a life threatening trail. Eh, whatever. Namco probably had its reasons.

Lloyd gave Colette a thumbs-up. "Okay! Now it's getting exciting! Let's hurry up and go inside!"

"…I hope you'll be able to maintain that enthusiasm," Kratos sighed.

"I wonder if it's cooler down there…" I said hopefully, the sun still on my mind.

Genis shook his head. "Probably not," he said doubtfully. "If there's any lava in there, it will be hot. And with only one way for air to exit, it's bound to be even warmer than it was inside."

"…And thus I feel like all my dreams have been shot down." I received one friendly smile from Colette, almost like a reassurance. It wasn't me that needed the reassurance; it was her. She was the one who was about to undergo a trial of Martel.

With Lloyd leading the way, we descended down the darkness of the stairwell.


	6. The Fire Seal

**So, here's the next quick update. _Hopefully_ it's better than the last update. Thanks to everyone who previously reviewed - here's the next chapter, and... well, let's see where it goes. I honestly have nothing else to add... Except I liked writing the battle scene. It was really fun! :D Alright, now without furthur ado, here is the Triet Ruins, the First Seal, containing both Ktugach, Ktugachlings (if I spelled those two monster's names wrong throughout the chapter, I WILL feel like and idiot), and a nice appearance of our favorite angel, Remiel!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, the player would be allowed to kill Yggdrasill after facing him the second time and not after getting their butts kicked by him five-hundred times before that! See my point, don't you?**

The Triet Ruins was hot. The lava spread everywhere along the different pits of the ruins had made the temple fifty degrees warming than what it should've been as an underground shaded area. In addition, there had only been one passage for air to escape, destroying any form of ventilation.

"So hot…" Lloyd complained, wiping his forehead with the back of his arm.

"Suffocating is a better word," I argued. It was disgusting. My clothes had been drenched with my own sweat for the past few days, and drying with that same nice scent imprinted in the fabric. The others didn't seem to notice their own odors – it was something that they seemed more accustomed to. I was already missing the nice warm showers I always took after sweating like a pig. Oh goodness, what would my mother say if she saw (or smelled) me now?…

"Look it at it this way," Raine said, letting out a breath herself. "The faster we release the seal, the sooner we'll return to the surface."

"Exactly why you should not waste your energy complaining and reserve it for walking," Kratos added sternly. How about saving some sympathy for the people here who can actually FEEL hot and cold?

I reached for my canteen, my last one already halfway empty. "I never thought anything would be hotter than that desert," I murmured, gulping down a few sips of the water.

"There are to be difficult places on this journey," Kratos informed me, and I sighed in response.

Getting to the boss room didn't take too long, maybe two hours tops. There were some wrong directions taken, and all the torches were lit to the most boretastic temple of the game. We fought monsters, looted their bodies, climbed very old and dangerous looking staircases, and listened to Raine's Ruin Mania speeches all through out the temple. The most exciting event was the Fake, that nice little "treasure chest, but not treasure chest." Lloyd had gotten knocked for a good ten minutes by a flying saucer while I gained a nice bruise on my thigh from a flying glass bottle. For all our hard work, we got an All-Divide; that would be useful in a future battle...

"So… you just step onto this and it teleports you there?" I asked, looking at the mysterious magitechnology dubiously. A received a few nods, and I asked warily, "Is it safe?"

"Yep!" Colette clasped her hands in front of her and gave me a short nod. "Here, do you want me to go first?"

"Um… No, that's okay, Colette. Besides, if the thing malfunctions, we kinda need you alive…"

"Oh…" Colette looked at the ground, disappointed. Lloyd volunteered to go first (trying to score bravery points, no doubt), and he stepped onto the disc, his body stretching vertically before he faded away. "See, it's safe!" Colette cheered as Genis stepped onto it next. She followed him, tripping on the device rim. She was about to land flat on her stomach before she faded as well.

"…I hope she didn't break it," I murmured as Raine stepped onto the device. There was no distortion. "Did she?"

"I doubt it," the Professor responded, her eyebrows furrowed. "I don-" She was interrupted by the warping of her own, leaving me and Kratos behind.

"So… seal time, right?"

"Indeed."

"…Do you want me to-" I received one nod from the purple clad mercenary, and I stepped forward onto the portal. Clenching my fists, I bit my lip nervously. Suddenly, I was rising higher and higher, like one of those elevators meant to bring you up twenty floors in a matter of seconds. Nausea swept over me, and I stumbled onto the real floor, biting my lip harder than before.

"Are you okay, Alex? You look a little green…" Lloyd's question rung through my ear. I shook my head.

"Just feeling a little sick," I reasoned, cursing my motion sickness. Rubbing my hand against my head, trying to quell the headache growing in my temple. There was another warp, and Kratos appeared last on the magitechnology device, unfazed.

"Something's coming…" Colette whispered at once, shock woven in her voice. I turned around, looking once at Colette, then the altar. Red sparkles were pouring from every direction, and the ground began to tremor.

"Mana… is welling up around the seal…" Genis muttered, gripping his kendema so hard his knuckles were turning white.

Kratos reached for his sword. "Be on your guard!"

The nice altar exploded, a volcano errupting from its deep sleep. The bosses came out, the two Ktugachlings and the lone Ktugach. The Ktugachlings split apart, both flanking each ends of our circle while the Ktugach stamped its paws and roared.

Kratos unsheathed his sword in a blink of an eye, and he was charging at the largest of the three, the Ktugach. The Ktugach shot immediately some of its spikes Kratos, all which he blocked away with both sword and shield. He was already in a battle with the fiery creature, while the other two Ktugachlings started to precede their attack.

Lloyd ran forward, to join Kratos in his battle. Great going, Lloyd. Thanks for leaving us here! Genis and Colette attacked of the Ktugachlings on the end, both fighting with a series of spells and attack. Taking out my tonfa with trembling hands, I slowly turned to face my opponent.

Oh… _fuck_…

It was humongous…

On fire…

And _casting a spell_.

Taking advantage of my negligence, the Ktugachling cast its ultimate Fireball, sending the balls of flame in my direction. I grabbed immediately for that small amount of mana residing in me, and yelled, "Protective Aura!" The shield came up around me, blocking the attack from hitting me at all. Thank goodness I had found the right name for that technique!

Leaning the tonfa against my arm, I charged towards the Ktugachling. Now, I had been having trouble fighting the monsters throughout this dungeon. When in came to those measly battles with the bugs and ravens, I was the one getting chased around by the harmless animals while everyone else proceeded to kick their asses. Right now, I had _completely_ forgotten I couldn't land a single hit on the cuddly bugs if I had to, let alone kill the stupid Fire Cat…

I lifted my arm in time to block the swing of the Ktugachling. There wasn't enough strength in that block, and after my feet slid against the smooth stone, I was knocked over. Skidding onto the ground, I stopped myself with my arms, and crouched onto my feet.

Lloyd rolled across the surface as well, stopping at the wall right beside me. "Lloyd, you okay?" I asked, crawling next to the red clad teen. He moaned back, rubbing his forehead as he stumbled onto his feet.

"I'm fine… that thing just caught me a bit off guard…" he murmured, his eyes a bit dazed. "Kratos…"

"He'll be fine." More than you know. "Besides, I need a little help with my nice friend."

"You're… friend?" I gestured towards the Ktugachling, and Lloyd nodded, understanding. "Got it. You want to work as a team?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I do the blocking. You do the stabbing."

We reached the agreement there – Lloyd didn't seem to like blocking. Now more stable on his feet, the Twin Swordsman ran at my side as we approached the Fire Seal Guardian.

I pushed my arms above my head before a claw met my skull. "Lloyd, go!"

"Sword Rain!" he yelled, stabbing the stomach of the Ktugachling. It roared back, and swung its tail, hitting away both Lloyd and me.

"I think we're weakening it," Lloyd said, ignoring his own injuries. "If I can hit him a few more times…"

"Got it," I replied, rubbing the new bruises forming along my side. "Lets just try to block… or dodge, this time."

"Yeah." The second time went about as well as the first time – I blocked the paws, Lloyd stabbed the stomach, we both got knocked back. We ran in for a repeat, and Lloyd managed to dodge while I hit the wall. A dull pounding had begun at the back of my head: I did my best to ignore it.

"One more time…" Lloyd murmured. I nodded back, and ran forward, holding my wooden weapons against my arms. The Ktugachling had brought up its claw with its original move, and I stopped it once more with my tonfa. My WOODEN tonfa.

"Alex!" Lloyd yelled. The flames that licked my arms were from the tonfa, and pushing away the Ktugachling's claw, I threw my wooden weapons to the ground, rubbing the burns now on both of my arms. It brought up its counter – turning a full circle and swinging its tail. It collided directly with the side of my stomach, and I continued to fly midair until my back hit the wall.

And then there was pain. More pain, stretching from my left arm. Any burn, bruise, or cut… It was nothing. Compared to this… oh my God… I swore angrily, biting into my lip.

"Sonic Thrust!" The final attack had come from Lloyd, and after the collapsing of his opponent, he was running. "Alex, are you alright?"

I nodded weakly, my knees weak beneath me. "I'm going to help Kratos. I'll get Professor Sage, alright?" I nodded back again, and Lloyd stood up, speeding to the battle scene. About a minute later, another one was next to me, and my arm was being lifted by cool arms.

"First Aid." The pain was lessened, but it still throbbed. "Alex, your arm…"

"What's wrong?"

"It… my healing arts…" Raine shook her head, taking out items from her bag. "Here's an Apple Gel. It will help manage the pain for now, but the injury will have to be healed later."

She was speaking so gravely, like I was going to die. "Professor… Will I be okay?"

"Yes, of course," she responded almost immediately, placing the small red disc in my hand. "I must heal the others… I'm sorry, Alex."

"It's fine," I weakly responded. Raine was gone right at then, and I swallowed the Apple Gel. The pain immediately weakened, now a smarting pain rather than a sharp one. I stood up, wiping the tears away from my eyes and glancing once more at the battle scenes.

Kratos and Lloyd were on the close melee side, both flanking the Ktugach. Kratos roared a commandment, and the two unleashed a powerful tech before avoiding the counter of the Ktugach. Genis cast one more spell, dousing the spikes of the massive beast while Colette moved to the side of the Ktugach, throwing her own Ray Thrust.

Lloyd ran in front of the Ktugach, his whole being glowing a faint blue. "Watch this…" He brought up one arm high, power surging through him. "Fierce Demon Fang!" The blade crashed into the Ktugach's skull, the ending blow and finishing of the boss battle.

"…Is everyone alright?" Lloyd panted, stabbing one of his swords into the ground for support. I pushed myself to my feet, grinning. Somehow, I had lived through the first boss battle...

Steam began to pour from the altar, and the small cylinder frame appeared, followed by the silhouette of Efreet. A red mass of light was next, and as the cylinder retracted, Remiel's words rang through our ears. _"You, the Chosen of Regeneration. Offer your prayers at the altar."_

"…Yes, my Lord." Colette ascended the few stairs, and kneeling on the small ground, she whispered, "Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength!" The room flashed once, and the red mass of light began to spread out, the seal releasing.

Another flash of light followed, along with a blinding shine from the ceiling. An orb of light descended, and followed by yet another flash of light, Remiel flew above.

"Colette, my dear daughter, you have done well."

"Thank you… Fa…ther," Colette hesitated, her eyes still bright.

"The guardian of the seal has fallen, and the first seal has been released. Efreet will surely awaken soon. In the name of Cruxis, I shall grant you the power of the angels."

"Thank you, my Lord." I resisted the urge to run forward and push Colette out of the way as the four beam of lights decended and hit her body. Two pair of wings, a combination of pink, purple, and blue, unfurled from her back, and everyone gasped. Except for Kratos.

Colette began to ascend higher, her first flight. Small particles fell from where she flew, each sparkling with their own light. "The angel transformation will not be without pain. Yet, it is but for one night. Be strong and endure."

Colette remained unfazed, replying dutifully, "I humbly accept this trial."

"The next seal lies far to the east, across the sea." Remiel's eyes scanned the group, and I saw them momentarily hang on me. "Offer your prayers at that altar."

"Yes, Lord Remiel." Another orb of light engulfed Remiel, and he warped out, leaving behind a trail of glowing feathers.

"_I shall await you at the next seal, the Chosen of Regeneration, my beloved daughter, Colette."_ Colette drifted to the ground, landing on her feet and staring at the altar.

"Colette… has wings!" Lloyd exclaimed, watching the blended glow of colors.

Colette looked over her shoulder. "Uh huh, and look! I can put them away, too." Colette turned around, and her wings disappearing from behind her. Genis jumped up and down, entertained by his friends newly acquired skill.

"Alex, are you ok?" I looked over to Lloyd.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"You've been glaring ever since Remiel came." Oh crap. Was I really? I'm sorry, how could I help myself? Ever since I had met him at Martel Temple on my first play through, I had a gut feeling he was a lying bastard. You couldn't imagine my enthusiasm when I met him at the Tower Salvation and had to fight him.

"Oh, sorry," I apologized. "It's my arm, you know? It hurts… a lot…"

"First Aid." More of the pain was removed. "I'll have to look at your arm once we exit," Raine told me. "I'm not sure, but I believe you may have… nevermind."

"He said the next place is across the sea! That means we get to sail on a ship! Haha, I can hardly wait!"

"A ship… Hmm, I wonder if there are any ships sailing with the way things are right now…" Raine looked at the ground, thinking.

"We should head to the coast and see what we can find," Kratos suggested. Lloyd turned to Genis and Colette, telling them practically that we had to go. The two came down from the higher ground, sheepish looks on both of their faces.

"Do you mean we have to go on that thing again?" I asked, looking at the small blue portal nervously.

"If you wish to leave," Kratos replied simply as Lloyd and Colette stepped onto it. I stood on it next, hoping my stomach wouldn't loose itself as I teleported out of the Seal Room.


	7. Title: Pathetic Swordsman!

**Before I even start, let me just say, with every new chapter, I seem to get more and more nervous about publishing. I dunno why... Probably just anxiety or something... xD**

**So, I finally looked up and started reading TWC (Two Worlds Combined) over the week and let me say: amazing SI. Jeez, I could ramble on for a paragraph about how much I like that fic, although I'm still around 800,000 words from being totally caught up, but since some people probably want me just to get one with the story... I won't. :D**

**The Eccentric Otaku: Thanks for reviewing again, and don't worry about reviewing the chapter before that. It's all cool. Glad you liked the training scenes from before, and the previous fighting scenes. Those are always fun to write... heh heh... **

**ShadowVDP: After a practically filler chapter, I kinda was going for something that was more to the point and such. I'm not sure if straightforwardness(is that even a word??? heh) is a bad thing; is it? Haha, just wondering. Thanks for reviewing again!**

**whatsername427: Likewise, thanks for reviewing. Yes, Raine does have a secret... Not a very big one, though. To be reviewed... well, in a few seconds. :D**

**SakuraDagger15: All to be revealed this chapter... Thanks for reviewing!!!**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, and to anyone who is also reading this, I thank you too! Here's the next chapter, filled with, well Colette's Toxicosis, Tofu Curry, and a bit more!**

* * *

Leaving the Triet Ruins was fairly quiet compared to the earlier part of day. It was mostly because everyone was so exhausted that nothing was said. Raine and Kratos hadn't gone around and healed everyone completely yet; they still were suffering a shortage of TP/mana. My arm still throbbed from the earlier battle, despite all the spells and Apple Gels that had been used with purpose to heal it.

I couldn't really understand WHY it continued to hurt. My leg, after being bitten, had stung a little for the couple of days before Mary-Muse healed it. But my arm had been healed by a few First Aids, and as far as I could tell, looked fine. There was a little redness left from the burns, but nothing that looked like it would hurt _this_ much. I turned it at my elbow a few times, the muscles straining with each movement.

"You shouldn't move your arm so much." I turned my head up, looking straight at Raine. Thinking about it, she had said something about my arm earlier. I let my arm fall to my side, and rose an eyebrow.

"Why?" I asked simply. Raine gave me no response, as if she hadn't heard. "Professor, I know something isn't right. My arm's been hurting a lot, even though you used your healing arts. I'm not an expert or anything, but I thought that if you used a technique like that, the least it would do is take away the pain."

Raine sighed, shaking her head in reply. "Alexa, I didn't tell you this earlier, mostly because I wanted to wait for you to reach outside." We had stopped in front of the stairs, behind the others of our group. "But seeing as you've noticed…" She looked at the ground. "Alexa, my healing arts… they are new. Growing, but still new. There are some injuries I cannot heal yet, some that I can't entirely take the pain from…"

I shook my head, confused. "What are you saying?"

Raine lifted her head finally, her eyes meeting mine. "Alexa, I believe you-"

"Professor, come quick! Something's wrong with Colette!"

Raine's eyes flashed to the top of the stairs, from where Lloyd's voice echoed. Her face was a clash between worried and apologetic as she dashed up each step of the stairs.

I almost slapped myself over the head. Colette's Angel Toxicosis! While I was worrying about my arm, I had forgotten about Colette's battle for her humanity! Bashing myself for my stupidity, I jumped onto the steps, running up the edges at the fastest speed I could.

"Her lips are turning purple. We must get her to a doctor in the city immediately," Raine's voice came to me as I reached the top step. She was crouched over, next to a weakened Colette. Colette herself was as pale as a ghost, her whole face in a struggle itself, against the pain that was soon to take her over.

"Wait, its best not to move her."

Lloyd took one look at the mercenary. "Why?"

"Remember the angel's words. The angel transformation process requires her to overcome a trial." Kratos took a look at Colette. "Rather than taking her to a doctor, it would be best to let her rest here."

"I'm… okay. I'll be fine after a little rest. I'm sorry to cause so much trouble…" Colette apologized. Using her arms for support, she pushed herself off the ground, stumbling slightly to her feet. It was Lloyd who was at her side this time to catch her before she fell.

"Stop apologizing all the time, you dork! It's not like you can help it! You were suddenly turned into an angel."

Colette sighed. "You're right… I'm sorry."

* * *

Our campsite the evening ended up being a good hundred yards from the Triet Ruins, out in the middle of the sand. Genis had dug a pit and cooked dinner while both Lloyd and Raine watched Colette as she rested. It was awful to watch. Colette had paled very much since the sickness hit her, as if all blood had been drained from her face. Her usually bright eyes had dulled and her face cringed with every wave of oncoming pain. It was for a while before her expressions of pain became less frequent, around the time when Genis had announced the finishing of supper.

I poked the huge glob of red on my metal plate, and scooped a small amount with the tin spoon. In all reality, it looked like a science experiment gone bad. "What is this?"

"Tofu curry!" Genis answered, taking a bite out of his. He made a face, absorbing whatever flavor he had taken, and swallowed.

"I dunno, it tastes sorta different…" Lloyd murmured, observing his own. "What do you think, Colette?"

Colette looked at Lloyd, from her untouched plate. "Oh, umm… sorry, I haven't eaten any yet." She picked up her utensil, scooping up a small fraction of the mixture, and brought it to her mouth. Her eyes widened as she chewed on the contents, a clash of shock and confusion passing through her face.

"Colette?" Genis looked worried. "Is it really that bad?"

"Oh! No, it's great, Genis!" Colette replied quickly, her voice bright. "This is the best curry you've ever made!"

"Really?" Colette nodded, and Genis looked at the ground. _"I didn't have any Saray though…"_

"Is something wrong, Genis?" Lloyd asked, hearing the whispers coming from the half elf.

"Oh, no, it's nothing." I turned my attention away from Genis. Colette had left the rest of her food untouched. She had lost her appetite, her ability to taste. She had lost one part of her humanity. And still, she managed to laugh around this campfire, as if she didn't have a care in the world. I wished I could have that strength; I couldn't bring myself to laugh, not now.

"Ow!" Pain shot through my left forearm, and I dropped the plate I had previously been holding up. The pain before, it had been dull, tolerable. But this… it was as if the blood in my arm was on fire.

Curses were escaping from underneath my breath, and I rubbed my hand vigorously against the arm. "First Aid." The pain was smothered by the sudden spell, resuming to the weaker throb it had been earlier. "I'm sorry, Alexa. I forgot to tell you…"

"What's wrong with Alex?" Colette asked, her face worried. Oh God, Colette, not now. It's not as bad as you think… Deal with your own problems right now, please…

"How many times have you tried using your healing arts?" Kratos confronted Raine, completely ignoring my well-being. He was across the campfire, and I honestly had forgotten he was here.

"Many," Raine whispered. "Three, four times, perhaps?"

"And you healing arts haven't helped her?"

I looked at Kratos, my face probably as confused as the rests. Raine shook her head. "Can yours?"

"Under normal circumstances, they could. But seeing that you've exposed the injury to an ample amount of mana, I cannot." Kratos crossed his arms across his chest, looking down at my arm. "If I were to add my mana, it would create an unbalance. Because you haven't fully learned how to control your healing, your mana is rigid and unstable. We would risk destroying her arm completely."

"Hey, I don't need a lengthy explanation," I interrupted, annoyed. "I'd just like to know what the hell is wrong with me!"

"You fractured your arm." Kratos hadn't spared any mercy as he said these words. My face fell, realizing why Raine hadn't said anything earlier. A fracture…. But I hadn't _heard _anything before… But Kratos, he had his angelic hearing… He could've heard something… Oh God…

Lloyd gave each of use a puzzled look. "Fractured? What does that mean?"

"It means she cracked the bone in her arm. It's not breaking a bone, more like the step before it," Genis explained thoroughly. Colette covered her mouth with her hand, her face horrified.

"Will she be ok, Professor?"

"Yes, she will," Raine responded. "Although I can't heal it right away, I can speed the process it takes for your bone to mend."

She could only _speed up _the healing? Ugh, I couldn't wait until Raine's power grew stronger. "How long?" I asked wearily.

"A week, maybe two. I'll need to put your arm in a splint as well, to prevent any further injury."

"Fun," I moaned. I wasn't sure what splints were like in Sylvarant, but I was pretty sure they were nothing compared to the lightweight plastic casts they usually put people in during their injuries on Earth.

"It's what's necessary," Raine replied simply.

* * *

About twenty tedious minutes later, my arm had been incased in its crude 'splint.' After using some spare sticks as enforcers, Raine had wrapped around it thick bandages to keep them in place. She said it was something for now, and when we reached Triet, we'd have to replace it with something more durable. My forearm felt thick and weighed down.

I stared at the fire absentmindedly, watching the flames rise higher and crackle. Heat spread from every side of it, providing warmth to each of us seated around. The night was quiet: there were no insects or birds to disturb this tranquility.

A red boot sending particles of sand flying broke through my thoughts and trance. "You coming to training?"

I looked up at the one and only Lloyd Irving. His face was curious, a naïve expression for a boy his age. "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"My arm," I hinted, gesturing to it with my head. Lloyd understood.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I forgot."

"There's no need to apologize."

Lloyd looked over his shoulder, his face twisting into an… _interesting_ expression. Poor Lloyd, already getting riled up by a few statements from his mentor. Wait until he found out the arrogant mercenary in violet was actually his father… "You know, that's kinda rude, butting into people conversations like that," I muttered, receiving a semi-deserved glare.

Kratos Aurion folded his arms across his chest. "I merely speak the truth. Lloyd's action is an act of concern for your life, and therefore he should not being apologizing."

"Um, actually-"

Kratos cut Lloyd off. "If you do not learn how to defend yourself, you leave yourself vulnerable, a target among the others. If you were in that situation, where you were target for being injured and defenseless, what would you do?"

"Scream and get the hell out of there."

"Is that so?" Kratos rose an eyebrow. I nodded at once, completely honest. "I see." His arms unwove themselves, and his right arm reached for his sword. Metal began to hiss, being drawn from its blade, and I started regretting my words. "Would you care to demonstrate?"

"You're joking, right?" I looked at Lloyd desperately. "He is kidding, isn't he?"

Lloyd's face was about as shocked as mine probably was right now. "Do not let your guard down," I could hear Kratos murmur, his voice low. The sword in his hand was dashing towards my side, unsheathed and dangerous.

"Protective Aura!" I managed to yelp. The small shield was brought up just in time, and sparks flew from where the sword made contact with the mana. I stumbled back, the weariness from the small spell coming over me. _I don't have the mana for this…_ My shield shattered, and the sword finished its slice.

I cried out in agony, a sharp pain coming from my leg. Looking down, my eyes stopped at the red liquid oozing down newly opened gash. _He cut me! That bastard cut me!_ Following my first instinct, I spun on my heel and started running like the wind. Bad idea. I wasn't a fast sprinter, not back on Earth or here on Sylvarant. Something hit my calf – the flat of Kratos' sword, I presumed – and I landed in the sand.

Something nudged against my back. "If you had been in a real battle, you now would be dead."

"You've made your point," I shot back, lifting my head from the sand. "Training is good. I'm screwed without it. I've learned my lesson."

"Have you?"

"Yes!" I replied. "I'll participate in that fucking training!" The pressure from my back was taken away, and I let out a sigh of relief. Rolling onto my back, I sat up, wincing at the newly received injury. It was a thin slice, precise and running at a skewered diagonal over my lower leg. Pain spread across the wound, and I held back a groan.

"First Aid." Mana, a pale hue of green, clustered around my leg, and the wound closed within a few seconds. The pain was completely ridden from that area; I looked up and blinked in disbelief at the source of the healing magic.

"I thought you couldn't use healing arts on me," I accused, recalling the earlier conversation.

"As far as you arm is concerned, I cannot. But you leg wasn't exposed to Ms. Sage's mana, and therefore, I can heal that much."

Kratos turned his back, pacing in the opposite direction. I got onto my feet simultaneously, trying to walk somewhere both behind and to the side of the purple clad mercenary. As pissed as I was for the Seraphim slicing opening my leg and giving me a scare for my life, I was trying to hide a smile. As much as he tried to hide it, Kratos really did have a heart.

* * *

"As a swordsman, you must always be prepared, ready for any situation that could befall itself." Kratos paced rhythmically in front of the two of his, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "In order to be prepared for the unpredictable, you must change your mindset. Without the proper mindset, a warrior cannot be worthy of his name."

I twirled a few strands of loose hair around my finger absentmindedly, filtering through most of the lecture. I found most of this useless – the prep sounded more appropriate for Lloyd, not me.

"-to begin training both of your skills adequately, we shall start with the basics." Kratos threw three sticks to the ground, two landing at Lloyd's feet, one at mine. "First, pick up your weapons."

I looked at the practice sword once, then at Kratos. Back to the sword, then to Kratos; my jaw fell. "You're joking, right?"

"Is something funny?" Kratos asked, his tone unreadable. Uh, yeah. You're telling me I was going to use a sword? Not going to happen, pal!

"Um, I don't think I'm really suited for the sword…" I muttered, my eyes cast at the pitiful excuse for a stick now lying in front of me.

"Whether you think the sword is the right weapon for you is beside the point," Kratos replied, his tone sharp. "Because you have lost your previous weapons, you will be trying something new."

"I will write you an _essay_ stating all the reasons why I _don't_ want to use that thing."

"If you want to use it or not is also besides the point," Kratos repeated. "If you do not learn how to protect yourself efficiently, you will become nothing but a hindrance. Would you rather become a useless burden than use a weapon you may have a slight distaste for?"

Yes and no. The facts remained that I didn't want to use a sword. Why? Three reasons. One, those things were sharp edged, thus the reason while being carried they are held in a sheath. When unsheathing a sword, I was very likely to accidentally slice myself.

My second reason was very like the first, because they were dangerous and could actually HARM someone. I liked my previous tonfa – there was no risk of me killing someone or something with them, probably also a weakness of them. I didn't want to kill someone – no, I _wouldn't_ kill anyone if I could help it. A pointy sword would make that statement hard to follow through.

And third… well, what kind of not near athletic and easy-to-flinch teenager would want **Kratos** to teach them how to use a sword? The Seraph was fucking scary as it stood, without plastering the "Sensei" title over his forehead and begging him to teach you as his pupil.

There had been a silence as I mulled over my thoughts. I didn't want to use a sword. Never, never, never, NEVER! But… I didn't want to be a burden. Gah! I hate that guys manipulative psychology thingy! Picking up the stick from the ground, I sighed. "I don't want to use a sword," I started, my voice decided. "…But I don't want to be a burden. I'll use this… _thing_ until we take our next stop, I guess. But at our next place, I'm replacing my weapons with something I _want_ to use."

Kratos nodded, his expression unreadable. "Very well. Now, in order to begin your training… Both of you must remove your Exspheres."

I gaped at Kratos, and Lloyd reacted faster than I could. "Remove our Exspheres? But those things are suppose to help us! Why can't we just-"

"An Exsphere amplifies the abilities of the user," Kratos explained, gesturing to the gem on Lloyd's hand. "However, without any skills, the effect becomes less, decreased and almost useless."

"Yeah, but at least it's something! Don't you agree, Alex?"

I turned over my right hand, staring at the red gem pressed against the gold key crest. It was the only thing that had kept me alive the past couple days, practically my savior. I didn't like the idea of not using them but… I held out my fist at Lloyd. "Go ahead, pry it off."

"What? You agree with this… this crazy idea?"

"No, but I have a feeling that if we don't remove them ourselves, Kratos will." My response was blunt, flat out and dead. "Come on, it'll only be for a few hours! Besides, you're supposed to be the best swordsman in Iselia! Not using an Exsphere shouldn't be this big a deal to you!"

Lloyd looked slightly insulted by this comment, but obeyed. He first removed my own Exsphere (seeing how I couldn't use my left arm) and placed it in my open palm. I pocketed it while he struggled to remove his blue gem. "Are you two finished?"

"Yep," I replied for both of us. Lloyd looked mildly annoyed by my assumption, as he picked up his two training sticks, holding them in a familiar way.

"Good. Now, hold your sword in front of you, how you would if in battle." I fumbled with the stick, adjusting a grip onto the lower end. "…Alexa, move your hand higher. You will have less control if you hold your sword all the way at the end."

"Stick," I murmured, correcting the mercenary as I slid my palm a few inches higher up the stick. "Like this?"

"…Close enough for now," he replied stiffly. I didn't know if I should say 'thank you' or not. "When facing an opponent, it is important to watch their movements. One careless mistake could cost you your life." I gulped, rethinking his words. "Lloyd, Alexa, both of you, attack each other."

"Got it!" Lloyd replied, eager. Man, I felt sorry for the guy. His short attention span had probably left him bored since the beginning of the lecture.

Lloyd started with the usual, a nice circular motion with his right arm, aiming for my side. His attacks were slower, I noticed, probably due to the missing amplifier he always used during battle. I flinched, my mind yelling at my right arm to move. A blunt force hit my side, and I was pushed back some inches. Lloyd continued his combos, hitting straight for my torso with his left arm. My arm didn't move again, and I was hit to the sand, pain now spreading through my body.

Lloyd's face changed, into the puzzled "why-the-hell-didn't-you-block" expression. He didn't say anything, just stared as I stumbled onto my feet. Bringing my arm back, I sliced towards his leg, only to be blocked by his wooden blade.

Sword number two came, hitting my calf, and I fell back on the ground, cursing.

Somewhere, on Earth, Sylvarant, Tethe'alla, or even Derris-Kharlen, a Muse with a sick sense of humor was laughing her ass off, announcing, "Alexa has earned the title, 'Pathetic Swordsman'!"

"Perhaps your skills are more undeveloped than I thought…" Kratos said, crossing his arms accordingly. I pushed myself onto my feet once more, soreness creeping over my body. "Try once more, except think of the sword more as an extension of your arm. Do not be afraid of the attacks that come to you – think only of repelling them."

I nodded, preparing myself once more. Lloyd began his attacks, and I hit the ground again. And it continued, again and again, through out the night.

**

* * *

**

Battered and bruised was not the way I ideally wanted to spend the next few days walking. But it was inevitable, in the very least.

All last night, I had gotten hit many times, only getting in a few successful blocks altogether. It was far from fun, training to use a sword. Actually, learning how to use the sword hurts like hell. That was the realization I had brought myself to.

"Sore… sore… sore…" The practice sword, the thick stick, bounced against my thigh with ever step. I was carrying it today, after Kratos' suggestion in case we ran into any enemies along the way. He said it would be safer, to have something to block off attacks with. After last night, I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen even WITH the Exsphere reattached to my right hand. I never gave that small magical gem enough credit…

Our first battle of the day had been fairly interesting, with a nice group including a snake (Sidewinders), scorpion, and hawk. Now, Lloyd ran after the scorpion, in all his fabulous rashness and almost got stabbed a few times by its nice retractable tail. Kratos, well, he went along to help out Lloyd, while Colette and Genis tag teamed the snake and Raine stood by the sidelines, ready to heal at any given moment. Which led me with…

"Woah!" I jumped back, the hawk digging its talons in the space where my head had just been. Shoot, I was getting attacked by a BIRD and having trouble. I fumbled with the sw- fine the _stick_ looped onto my belt, trying to draw the damn thing. Once I finally got it out, I began swatting at the bird. The tip of my stick hit its head, and it knocked down, unconscious.

Genis finished off the Sidewinder with a Wind Blade while Lloyd sliced through the scorpion. Spinning the twin swords by their handles, Lloyd pushed them into their sheaths with a faint 'click'.

"Our weapons are love!" Colette started.

Genis continued, "-justice and-"

Both of them to Kratos, wide eyed and pleading, who softly touched the tips of his fingers to his forehead, refusing to complete the battle cry.

I almost died laughing watching Kratos get lectured by an energetic blonde on the basics of battle cries, and Kratos' reaction when she explained his part in them.

* * *

**Wow, I've written a bunch about training. I dunno why... I just enjoy it! **

**Another chapter, down! Bang! Will Alex find a right weapon? Will the Chosen's group make it through the desert safely? Will Lloyd ever stop hating tomatoes? Don't ask me... I'm just here for the ride... You'll find out next time, on Regrets of a Self Insert!!! **


	8. A Stop at Triet

Wow, can't believe it - I'm turning sixteen tomorrow. Wohoo... Fun.... Joy... Urrrrk....

**Last chapter had a total of six reviews! That's a record breaker for Regrets of a Self Insert! Wohoo! [Confetti flies.] Thank you to everyone who has been reading this, and reviewing as well. You guys give me inspiration! Hehe, so here's the new chapter, with... well, I guess 'character development?' Yeah, I think that's what it's called...**

**And here comes the next chapter! Don't you love my author(ess) notes?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, Kratos would've come back for good in ToS:KoR (or DoaNW, take your pick) and Lloyd would've kept Scott Menville as the voice actor, and Yuan would be allowed to keep his kick ass cape.**

"_Hey Alex, try to pay more attention!"_

_Foam whipped against my upper arm, fast as a snake snapping for its prey. I winced at the sudden blow, the one I had failed to block again._

_It was last summer, and I was 'sword training' with my brother. When he had offered, armed with two foam swords, I had leapt at the opportunity. Being such a fan of Zelda games had brought me to thinking how cool swords were. It was entertaining, "sparring" with my brother that afternoon. He was better than me – using a sword came more naturally to him. Me? I winced about every time he swung his blade, and had trouble keeping up._

_That was our training. Hitting the foam objects at one another, laughing carelessly at the simple mistakes each of us made. Head shots never counted. Two limbs sliced off, you died. If you got slashed across the chest, or hit on the back, you were also done. Those were the rules we played by, every moment of our "training."_

Training was never to be like that.

Jumping across the sand, dodging each swing and sometimes warding off his own. I was a mess compared to Lloyd. It may have been only the second night. I might be training for five hours each evening. But none of that mattered. The facts were I was doing horrible, just as bad as those times my brother and I would hit back and forth.

I really missed my big bro…

"No improvement," Kratos said, observing my fallen weapon. He didn't sound surprised in the least, and that annoyed me.

"I'm trying," I spat, sore and tired from the training.

"Trying is not enough," he responded simply, throwing the wooden stick. It fell to the ground, at my feet. "If you are weak, you will die. Your enemy will never pity you, if it comes down between your life and his."

Damn it, I really hated Kratos. All he had been was an ass for the past few days, no elaboration needed. Abandoning my weapon, I trudged off back to the camp, following the dimming fire.

Genis was as asleep as a log when I came back, tucked in under a bundle of his own blankets. He snored, loudly, turning a few times from his covers. I passed by him, and eventually crouched down to my backpack, placing it to be used as a nice pillow.

I looked across the fire, catching Colette kneeled on her bedspread. "You're still awake?"

She opened her eyes, parting her hands from in front of her face. "Oh, yes, I am. I wanted to pray for the people of Sylvarant before I slept, to the Goddess Martel."

"I see…" I nodded. Colette was the essence of 'nice.' All she did was worry about others, not giving a damn about herself. She was what a Chosen should be, unlike a certain redhead I would have to meet in the future…

"Do you believe in Martel?"

My head inclined up, and stared. "D-do I believe in the Goddess Martel?"

Colette nodded, her face curious. "I have been wondering the answer to that question as well," Raine spoke up, shutting her leather bound book. "Where do your beliefs stand?"

"Beliefs?" Ha… Haha… Hahaha… I wasn't sure how they wanted me to answer this. I could say 'oh yeah, I believe in the Goddess and everything,' but at the same time, this whole place didn't exist. This place… my world… that _game_… I wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

"To be honest, I don't know," I replied coolly. "I believe what is there, I guess."

Colette's face fell. "So… you don't believe in the Goddess Martel?"

Urrrrrrrkkkk… Yeah, I don't believe in the Goddess Martel. Why? Because she's a half elf from four thousand years ago that got killed by a bunch of humans and is trying to be brought back to life by her obsessed little brother. "I think that I'll never know if there is a Goddess or not. Mostly because you're… going to regenerate the world. And when that happens, we won't be alive long enough to see the regenerated world." I studied my boots. "I'm sorry, Colette."

"Oh, no, it's fine!" Colette smiled. She was too friendly, too forgiving… "Alexa."

"Yes?"

"The Goddess exists," she spoke, her voice barely a whisper. "She exists in you and me. I hope one day, you'll come to realize that."

"Uh… yeah, Colette. I'll try. Thanks." I turned away, closing my eyes.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

I unscrewed the top of my canteen, tipping it back to my throat. No liquid ran through. None. I peeked inside the container, finding nothing but an empty space. It was official. I was out of water.

"Geeeeeeeeeniiiiiiiiis…."

The short half-elf turned at my whine, he face looking moderately annoyed. "What?"

I raised my canteen higher. "Could you use some of your magic-thingy to fill this?"

"Come on! You've asked me to use Aqua Edge five times today!"

"And you only used it once out of those five!" I argued back. "Pretty, pretty please with sugar and a cherry on top? I'll be your best friend for the rest of your life!"

Genis' nose wrinkled. "I hate cherries."

"Here, you can have some of my water," Colette offered, taking out her own container. Hm, that wouldn't be selfish, would it? I mean, Colette didn't have to eat anymore, so didn't that mean she didn't need to drink? Or did the angelfication process require the person to drink water in order to stay alive? I'm pretty sure that angels could get dehydrated if they could get burned to a crisp by a bunch of magic… Then again, they may be just immortal beings without any needs to humanity… Has Kratos drank anything this entire time?

Screw it. I tilted my container, uncovered. Colette reached over, transferring her water. "Thanks, Colette," I said after she finished. I began to gulp down what I could, still trying to conserve it.

"We'll be reaching Triet in the next hour," Raine announced, looking at the map. "We'll be stopping there for the remainder of the day, and leave tomorrow for Ossa Trail."

Ossa Trail? That means we get to see Sheena soon, right? Hehe, I could hardly wait to see the Clumsy Assassin make her hole-falling appearance. I wasn't going to let her live that down when she joined our party!

Strong winds blew past us, and Colette's hair was thrown up into random directions. "Woah! That was a good breeze!" Lloyd whistled after the winds blew down. It was nice – wind plus sweat covered body equaled a happy Alex!

All that happiness was shattered when the 'wind' became a 'sandstorm.'

The traveling had immediately slowed, seeing as the wind was blowing AGAINST us. At one time, Genis almost flew off, never to be seen again. If it were for a certain teenager in red, well, that probably would've been the last we'd seen of the half-elf.

Sand. And more sand. All that continued to be thrown against us were those cursed grains. They stung my forehead, from where the sweat had run dry. My eyes were almost squinted shut in attempts to keep them sand free. How come was it that EVERY game just HAD to have a desert? Couldn't the game designers come up with some new original landscape like… I was out of ideas.

The inn door crashed open, almost being knocked off its hinges, and Lloyd, being at the back of our traveling group,' pushed all of us through the narrow doorway. Kratos shut the door behind him after seeing we all were in there, while Raine proceeded to give payment for six spaces at the inn.

I was thanking any abstract mystical force when they offered water to each of us. My throat was dry, my body over heated, and I was pretty sure my shirt and shorts had enough sand stuck in them to make a whole 'nother desert.

"Ossa Trail is at least a three days walk," Raine mused as she spread out the map on the small wooden table. The ends of parchment were curling, I had noted, and the ink was almost worn out. "After we get through the mountains, we should be near the outskirts of Izoold, a small fishing development on the eastern side of the continent." Her finger ended at Izoold, surrounded by the miles of ocean. "We should be able to find a boat there."

Kratos, standing on the other side of the table, responded one short nod. "And if there are no boats going out to sea?"

"There's a bridge here leading to the next continent," Raine explained, pointing at the small object drawn in to signify the bridge. "If we crossed it, we would make it onto the same continent as we would if we crossed the sea."

Huh, she must've been talking about the 'hard' path. I hadn't been entirely sure which path we would go on – I mostly thought that Kratos, trying to keep most of us _alive_ would go the normal path, seeing as the enemies would be ten times more likely to kill us if we went that far. Well, ten times more likely to kill Lloyd, Genis, Raine, and Colette. Fifty times more likely to kill me. And not even able to land one hit on Kratos.

I sidestepped away from this conversation, to the other side of the room, seating myself on the empty bed. We still hadn't worked out who was sharing with whom rooms this night – we only had decided to meet at this room closest to front of the Inn.

"Look, Professor!" Colette exclaimed as she threw the shutters of the window open. I half expected a rush of sand to come through, but was proven very wrong when only sunlight and desert birds chirping came from the window. "The storm, it's over!"

"That's good," Raine sighed. She reached over her side, picking up the traveler's bag she usually carried. "We need to restock on our supplies."

"No kidding," Lloyd signaled to his almost empty water bottle. I nodded, in agreement. I had some water to refill, and a new… _weapon_ to find. Screw Kratos – there was no way in hell I was using that damn sword.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

Weapons are expensive. Reeeeeeeally expensive.

Of course, this is coming from someone who is completely broke in every way, shape, and form. Even from the split of Gald I had gotten from our victory against the Ktugach, I was still very, very poor. A decent sword cost a few hundred Gald, much more than I could afford.

It was official. I needed more money.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" The burly store owner stepped out of nowhere, quite literally, sending me jumping ten feet high.

"Y-yes," I replied nervously. "I'm looking for a weapon…"

"You've come to the right place," he said, his voice observing. Crap, I must've sounded like an idiot.

"I don't have a lot of money though…" I added. "And I don't know what I should use."

"I can assist you in selecting your weapon. As for the money… I suppose we could trade off."

"Trade?" I repeated.

"Yes. I'll need an extra pair of hands today – I am forging some new swords, you see. If you would help for a few hours, I am willing to provide you with some sort of…weapon to replace yours." His eyes flashed to the stick connected to my waist, and I tried to hide it shamefully.

"Yeah, that would be great."

"We have a deal, then." He placed out his hand, and I shook it. "Here, I'll show you my goods, and you can decide from there. What do you need this weapon for?"

"I'm traveling," I explained, editing out 'with the Chosen's group.' "I'll be running into some dangerous foes, and I don't want to be useless or a burden."

"Understandable," the man nodded. He reached behind a stand. "If you're going to run into dangerous foes, then you'll need something that can cause some damage." He pulled from behind the same stand a… hammer? Its head was large, and the pole looked longer than my arm. "Try lifting this."

I looked at it uneasily, and grabbed onto the middle with both hands. It sorta reminded me of one of my favorite characters, Lavi. He used an oversized hammer that never felt heavy to him… That would be awesome to use! The man took away his hands, and I tipped over.

"Perhaps that is too heavy," he mused, grabbing the weapon before I could drop it. He placed the hammer down, and moved to the other side of the store. "Something light… Ah, here." He pulled out something else – it was a longbow. "With great precision and aim, you can take out the strongest of warriors with such a weapon."

I took the bow from him, my right hand wrapping around the middle. It was light, thank goodness, even lighter than my practice sword. I could work with this – yeah, that would be great.

"_Nice try but no."_ A voice rang in my head, clear, crystal, and… yes, beautiful. _"Your left arm in completely useless and your aim is crap. Goodness, don't you want to live?"_

I gave him back the bow. "I would like to use it but… Well, my aim isn't that good to begin with."

"I see." He took it back, and placed it behind. "What else… hmm… You're a difficult buy… What have you been using as a weapon before you came here?"

"Oh, this," I pointed to my stick. "I've been using it sorta like a sword-"

"Aha! A sword! I may have exactly what you need!"

The eager blacksmith ran behind to another room, and a few seconds later came out with a… _sword_. I swore, Kratos was paying this guy off. "Swords have always been my specialty, and this is one of my designs," he explained, unsheathing the blade. Oh crap. He was serious. "I would be glad to trade this for your assistance."

I stared at the sword, the edge _mocking_ me. It was, I tell you. _Mocking me_. There no hilt to the blade, simply the shaft, then the sheath. Thin and looking sturdy, it also had only one edge sharpened. A _single edged_ sword. Safer than-

What the hell was I thinking? I mean, I always thought it would be cool to use a sword. But that was when I was a naïve video game loser! In reality, I really, _really_, didn't want to use one of these. My brother probably would be ashamed if he heard the protests running through my mind, but he could go to hell for all I cared.

"I'm… not sure."

"You do not wish to use a sword?" he questioned, looking over my face.

"No. Well, yes actually."

"Why is that?"

I studied the ground. "It's just… well, using one of those-"

"Have you ever killed someone?"

I looked up and shook my head.

"I see. Well, here is the only advice I can give you." The man pushed the sword back into its sheath. "You have a scabbard for a reason. That reason is for your choice. You alone are to choose when it is necessary to use the blade. Your judgment is what makes the blade dangerous, not the weapon itself. A sword in the hands of someone with no ill intentions is a dull blade."

Huh, it sounded like one of those philosophical pieces that Kratos would've woven. Except I didn't feel like crap. Horaah for people who actually had a shred of kindness!

_If I control the sheath… I have control of the blade…_ "So, when do we start smithing?"

The man grinned, and grabbing an apron from behind his counter, he threw it to me. "Right now. Come on. Those swords aren't going to make themselves!"

* * *

Why anyone would ever want to become a blacksmith in the desert was beyond me. The constant fire in the furnace managed to the make inside of the shop hotter than the outside.

The entire few hours, I assisted in moving the molds, refilling the water tubs, and even getting to hit the red hot swords in making with a hammer. Working with the molten steel at first made me a bit uneasy. Either way, I walked out of the store a few hours later, new sword strapped to my waist, side by side with my sparring stick.

I shivered. It was night, now, and the cold air had begun to hit me. I rubbed my exposed arms, my hands running over goosebumps.

"Maybe they'll have a fire in the inn," I whispered hopefully as I stepped down another flight of stairs, to the entrance of the inn.

I nearly choked the minute I walked in. A horrible stench filled the building, like a rotting substance had been burned continuously over a fire. I began to gag, shielding my mouth with my upper sleeve.

Genis stepped out of another room – the Inn's kitchen. His hair was messier than usual, his clothes splattered by batter. "I give up!" he exclaimed, dropping to the ground.

"Genis? What's wrong?"

I ran to the half-elf's side. He looked back up, his eyes tired. "R-raine… she got into the kitchen… She wanted to prepare dinner… and… and… I couldn't save it…"

The kitchen door swung open, followed by the entering of a woman in orange holding a dish. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Raine's cooking!

"I've finished!" she announced, her eyes gleaming. On her dish, she held out proudly an amorphous blob of gray.

I was going to regret this… "R-Professor? What is that?"

"It's a new dish!" Raine beamed. "Fish, covered with a tart, yet sweet sauce, baked to a crisp over a roaring fire… Now all it needs is a name…"

"Is it supposed to be black?"

"Huh? No… I can't imagine why… It was suppose to turn out purple."

It was official. Raine WAS going to stay away from any oven for the remainder of the journey.

* * *

**Raine's cooking trademark... Haha, gotta love the horrible cooking of the Ruin Maniac!  
So Alexa's using a sword. I'll have to admit, I was against the idea, but for the time's being, she's going to be using one. Sorry, sparring stick. You've gotta be let down, now.**

**Will Alexa get through the desert safely? And how will the Chosen's group react when they meet a mysterious woman in purple, coming to assassinate the Chosen? Find out next time, on Regrets of a Self Insert!**


	9. Grass Angels and Falling Assasins

**So, I just realized a while back that I've been spelling "kendama" wrong ("kendema.") And all I can say is... wow. I feel reeeeally stupid right now.**

**So those who have been wondering where I've been, lets just say that I've been preoccupied. Here's a long chapter as compensation - as anyone could guess, I'm actually sick of the Triet Desert. So, here's me getting over with the last of the Triet Desert... For now. So, that's it for the pre Author Note. Pretty much because I still got to go through the chapter a third time to edit anything I don't like. Thanks to whatsername427, ShadowVDP, The Eccentric Otaku, Anon, and tatewaki200 for reviewing!!!!**

**~Fukachi no Rin**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Tales of Symphonia.**

"You're holding back."

Lloyd and I lowered our practice blades, promptly looking at each other and turned to the cryptic mercenary. "Which one of us?" Lloyd asked.

I titled my head. Usually, when Kratos handed out his insults, about ninety nine percent of them were directed towards me. But this time, I didn't think I was doing too bad. I was progressing, being able to block a series of two or three swings before Lloyd finally smacked me with his wood. For exsphereless training, I felt that I was doing fairly well.

And Lloyd – well, he was kicking my ass. He moved at a steady pace, one not impossible to keep up with. He looked like he was giving his best effort – whenever I did try to attack him, he blocked my wooden blade with ease. _So Kratos, who screwed up here?_

Kratos spoke after the short silence, eyes observant. "In a sense, both of you are."

In a flash of movement, Kratos was attacking, sword drawn. Lloyd dropped his wooden sticks immediately, reaching across his body and blocking the blade with great speed. For a moment, I thought I saw sparks fly as Lloyd's feet sunk into the sand. "Lloyd, you've been only using a fraction of your speed. You're afraid of hitting Alexa, thus you continue to hand her attacks that can easily be blocked."

Kratos pushed Lloyd away, knocking the teenager to the ground. He slowly rotated towards me, and I could feel my brain go numb. I was already stumbling away, and he hadn't even begun his attack. "Alexa!" he barked, and I flinched at the harshness in my name. "You've been afraid as well, except you haven't even attempted any movement which can remotely be called an attack." He took two strides and with a fluid movement of his arm, he pointed the end of his sword to my throat. "If you see an opening, you must seize it. Your enemy will never hesitate to take your life and neither should you."

Any fear I had felt before was amplified, tenfold. I could feel some water come to my eyes, and the blurry film had already abstracted my vision.

The sword was gone, along with the death threat, and Kratos was replacing it into his blade. "Go back to the inn. Both of you. Rest. It would do no good to have you two hold us back in the morning."

Kratos turned his back on us, and without taking another glance, he began to pace back to Triet.

I collapsed there, onto my knees. My fists were clenched tightly, my nails digging into my skin. Where they pierced my flesh, blood trickled from. Stupid nails. Stupid Kratos, stupid training, stupid Kratos, stupid Sylvarant!!!

Lloyd got back to his feet, brushing off the sand from his uniform. "He's right… We should get some rest…"

"Y-yeah," I stuttered. I don't want to be here. I want to get the hell out. Get me back to Earth. I want to study for my Chemistry exam. I want to harass my brother. I want to go back home, away from this hellhole….

I wanted to go home.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

"_You better start playing your role better, or else you'll never make it through."_

"_What does it matter?" I questioned. I hated the times like this. I was in my own damn dream, probably in Sylvarant, sleeping on a hay mattress. An itchy, uncomfortable, but nevertheless, a decent provider of sleep._

"_You're not playing a good Sylvaranti. You're fighting sucks. You've been nothing but a burden. And you got two people who are on the verge of kicking you off the team."_

"_Two people?" I repeated, my voice half surprised. "Who?"_

"_Kratos for one."_

"_No duh," I replied. "Who else?"_

"_Don't brush Kratos off easily," my Muse warned, crossing her ankles. In the white space, she was sitting on a reclining chair. I was on a pale couch. "With every passing day, his belief that you're a Renegade agent is growing. The only reason he trains you is so he can keep an eye on you when he's training Lloyd."_

"_I'm flattered," I mocked. "Next?"_

"_Kratos thinks you're a spy for the Renegades. Meaning, next time a Renegade soldier attacks, you better fight them with all you got. Show anything remotely near mercy, and his trust bar is sure to go off the scale, and I don't mean that in a good way."_

"_Renegades don't attack us until we attack their base," I argued, throwing my arm to my side._

"_You're an idiot!" she accused, smacking her head. Oh wow, someone was angry. "Listen to me! This _isn't _the game! This is real life! Not everything that took place in the game is going to take place in the exact sequence here! Your very appearance into the game has caused what most would call a Butterfly Effect!"_

"_You're ripping this off of Heroes, aren't you?"_

_She let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. Ignore my first warning. If Kratos comes for your head in the middle of the night, see if I care. Your second threat is Raine."_

"_Raine?" I repeated. "You're kidding, right?"_

"_Has if ever dawned upon you that just because you're a potential new student, that she may still have her doubts? You haven't asked her anything concerning academics! And that's alone is very suspicious for a girl who has traveled across the continents just to have a teacher!"_

"_Yeah, a teenage girl who hasn't had any time to learn the entire trip. No sweat, I got it covered."_

"_No, you don't," she contradicted. "Ever since _you_ went to Kratos to be trained, Raine's suspicions have been growing. You do have a semi-valid excuse, but if you continue to say nothing, she will think you've been lying this entire time."_

"_Yeah, cause I'm such a _good_ liar."_

_She smiled, blue locks dancing in her hair. "So, how do you plan to get past her history quizzes?"_

"_Well…" I hesitated, biting a lip. I hadn't exactly mapped this part out, yet. "I was thinking I would claim I slept through my history class, and that's why my history sucks."_

"_Doesn't work," she replied. "Palmacosta Entrance Exam is forty percent history questions. You must've known a decent amount of history if you ever did make it into the school."_

"_Lucky guess?"_

"_All answers are written out. No multiple choice this time."_

"_Really, really, lucky guesses?"_

"_I see you have some details to work out, then," she replied. "Have you ever heard of what Tales of Symphonia gamers call 'the hard path'?"_

"_Huh? Yeah. Why?"_

"_It's an-"_

My dream came to a halt there, as I shot up right in bed. A hay bed, in Sylvarant's Triet Inn. Damn it.

There was the breaking of dishes, coming from bellow. Raine had pushed back her chair and was on her feet. "What was that?" I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes.

"I'm not sure," she responded quietly. Raine reached for her staff warily, gripping the middle of it tightly. I yawned again. What time was it anyway, three A.M.?

"I betcha it's just Lloyd and Kratos being buddy, buddy," I said uncaringly, rolling back underneath my covers. I squinted my eyes shut at the sound of chairs skidding and more breaking dishes.

"That's impossible. Kratos is guarding the Cho- Colette."

Kratos was sharing a room with Colette? I wasn't sure if I should be mentally disturbed or laughing my ass off.

There was a third crash, and a dull thump. I threw off my covers. "I'll go check it out. It's probably just Lloyd and Genis acting like stupid brothers."

"Go ahead. I'll inform the Chosen and Kratos. It is possible that they are sleeping through this." I snorted, and Raine shot me a look. Woah, sorry professor, but Kratos has got that whole angelic-no-sleep-hearing-thing going on.

Alright, so I was pissed. That was simply because I was a very unfriendly person when I get up. Usually, I woke up groggy and irritable, and took a nice hot shower to get rid of that morning grumpiness. But did they have hot showers in Sylvarant? Noooo, they had itchy hay sack mattresses and teenagers that made a bunch of noise in the room bellow you…

Stopping at the end of the stairs, my hand flew to my mouth to mask my horror. "Oh my… Are you alright?"

The innkeeper, the very nice lady who had worked behind the counter, stirred once. She was bleeding slightly, the blood staining the sleeve of her white nightgown. I crouched at her side, and did the first thing that came to mind – I reached for her neck and checked for a pulse. At first, there was nothing, and I moved my two fingers nervously before the steady beat came to the tips.

"R-Professor!" I yelled, cursing myself for forgetting to correct myself. Raine stepped out of Colette's room, looking over the railing. Upon seeing both myself and the woman on the ground next to me, her aquamarine eyes widened, and she raced down the stairs.

"How did this happen?" she asked methodically, a rune appearing beneath her feet. There was a final crash, and Lloyd's voice rang through the inn.

"Lloyd!" I heard Genis cry.

"Alexa! Go check on them!"

I must've been an idiot. Seriously. If there's a bleeding body outside the room, and a bunch of noise coming from the next, one would assume the situation is dangerous. Aka, someone's attacking and we're screwed. Especially me. I had left my Exsphere on the night table, and sword against the wall. My dagger was on my night table as well – I lived with the fear that while sleeping, I would impale myself on it.

For some reason, I found myself obeying Raine. Moving to the opposite door, I stepped inside Lloyd and Genis' room, looking at the mess they had created. Tables and chairs overturned, mattress exploded and hay strewn across the room, a panicked Genis pressed against a corner, and… Lloyd, collapsed on the opposite side of the room, his swords both laying unsheathed and across the floor, at the mercy of the two… Desians? Renegades? Did it matter?

"Damn it, you made too much noise," the taller of the men spoke, turning towards his friend.

"I made too much noise? You're the one who threw the Irving kid across the room for crying out loud!" His attention was cut into, and the man turned to his left. Genis had inconspicuously began casting a spell – the soldier lifted his crossbow and shot at the boy. "Shaddup you!" he commanded. Genis brought up a Force Field in time, preventing the bolt from stabbing through his head.

…And cue me freaking out here. I let out a small "merp" squeal, and two heads turned to my direction. "What should we do about these two?" The shorter one asked his partner.

"Beats me. Lord Botta only said to bring the Irving kid alive."

Renegades… Fun... "Knock 'em out, right?"

The second nodded. "Yeah, before Kratos gets back."

In their distraction, I was acting. Deciding to take a chance, I ran to the floor and picked up one of Lloyd's sword. The first soldier was taken surprised as I clunked the blade against his head. Genis took his chance as well, and grabbed his kendama and slammed the end against the second soldier. He was knocked to the ground, unconscious, and I pointed my sword at the man's throat.

"L-leave," I stuttered. "A-and I'll sp-spare your life."

The Renegade soldier looked at me curiously, back to the sword, then to me. "No, I'm going to leave with Lloyd Irving," he contradicted. He was staring through his grated helmet straight at my arm, shaking violently in its position. "And do you know why?" He pinched the flat of the blade, and pulled it to the side. My death grip on the hilt was lost, and he tossed the sword to the side. A knee met my stomach, and I flew back, hitting the opposite wall.

The Renegade soldier recovered his position, standing plainly on two feet. "Because you're not a killer."

There was a flash of violet, in the same moment, a blur of silver. Blood splattered across the floorboards, and the soldier, lost for words, collapsed onto the ground. His face had paled its final shade, before he breathed his last breath and all signs of life left his expression.

Kratos flicked his blade, blood splattering to the side. His eyes remained empty, emotionless, as he advanced further to the stumbling, panicking man on the other side of the room.

"P-please!" he begged, his expression terrified. He was torn down next, lifeless body falling onto the ground. Two men, dead, laid in front of me.

I promptly turned to the side and threw up all over the floor.

"Alex?" Genis asked in the middle of my dismay. I wiped the corners of my mouth with my gloves. The nasty taste of vomit was stuck in my mouth, likely to stay for the next few hours, thanks to Kratos. I glared at the mercenary, who was simply looking me down. It was one of those 'what-else-did-you-expect?' looks. I _shouldn't_ have expected any less. But what could I say? I was a wuss.

So, how was my night? I'd got yelled at during training, I received a cryptic warning from my Muse (aka, I was on Raine's naughty list), Lloyd got attacked by some Renegade soldiers, and I got to see Kratos mercilessly slaughter two human beings. Yep, my night was going great.

Raine eventually did finish healing the Innkeeper, of course. She was very understanding after we explained the situation, and insisted we stay the remainder of the night, despite the disruption we caused.

Haha. Yeah, right.

Instead, we had a pissed off woman yell with all hell hath no fury on us, pointing out we had ruined two of her desks, three chairs, destroyed a hay mattress, and added that we had created two permanent blood stains into her floor. Of course, she avoided the puddle of vomit, two Renegade corpse, and the fact _we had saved her life_ from the mix, and kicked us out of the building within the next hour.

So instead of sleeping on an itchy, but still acceptable, bed in the warm Triet Inn, I was stuck freezing my ass off camping a few hundred meters outside the walls of Triet Oasis.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

"C-c-co-ld…"

My teeth chattered relentlessly against one another, and I curled up tighter into a ball. I really needed a blanket. Or a sleeping bag. Yeah, like one of those ones you would get from the camping section of Walmart. You know, the kind that had the extra layer of insulation to keep warm… Who was I kidding? You hand me a rolled up sleeping bag, it would take me ten minutes to figure out how to unroll the damn thing.

"You okay, Alex?"

Lloyd had recovered from his recent unconscious spell from earlier, awake and more alert than ever. He sat up from his sleeping bag, that lucky bastard, his hair tousled.

"J-just… fl-flippin… _fine_…" I lied through chattering teeth. My nose was running like crazy, as it always did in the cold. How much longer until we were out of this stupid unpredictable desert?

Lloyd didn't look convinced. "Hey, if you're cold, I could lend you my sleeping bag-"

"Gimme!"

Lloyd cracked a grin, as he pried himself from underneath his own covers and threw the whole cocoon structure to me. I wormed myself through the small opening, warmth immediately cascading me. The bag _did_ have the faint smell of 'sweaty teenage boy' in its fabric, but whatever. It made me warmer.

"Listen, I'm sorry 'bout getting us kicked out of the Inn," Lloyd apologized sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "It really was all my fault."

"Sure was," I agreed, shrugging uncaringly. Lloyd didn't reply after this, and began to stare emptily to the starry sky.

"_Keep acting like this, and you two will form a life long relationship."_ A voice in my back of my head spoke, her tone coated with sarcasm.

I decided to ignore her warning.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

Five days. That was the rough estimate Raine gave us the next morning for us to get to Ossa Trail. Five… long… _days_

I was seriously having trouble figuring out the proportions in relativity to the game. I mean, if memory served correct, the Renegade Base was only a few steps away from Triet on the world map, and the Triet Ruins was another ten paces. Here, Renegade Base was an hour away at best, and Triet Ruins was two and a half days.

The first day of walking was pretty straightforward – Lloyd was especially energetic in the morning, despite the fact some of us had our hours of sleep diminished by a large factor. We ran into less enemies that day: occasional snakes and hawks were our largest problem.

Day two of walking, we had another fairly normal day. Genis passed out from heat stroke about a few hours into the traveling. Lloyd was the one stuck giving the very red half elf a piggyback for a few hours, until he regained consciousness. Right before we needed someone to cook dinner too! Fate didn't hate us as much as it pretended to!

On day three, I paced endlessly, and came to the conclusion I had to start heeding my Muse's words. Meaning… Well, I did the worst possible and imaginable action.

I asked Raine Sage if she could provide lectures as we walked.

…Raine never spared any details when she gave lectures on history. Most of it was trivial, other sections the main important ideas. Which was all good – I could handle a few lectures a day, and _maybe_ grasp a few key points from each lecture. That's what I thought, until she handed me a small book and told me I must read it _and_ be able to provide a twenty minute lecture discussing the important events that took place in the content and evaluate the accuracy of the account by the time we arrived at Ossa Trail.

And after that, I was reading _while_ walking. And who says you can't walk and chew bubble gum at the same time? Ackkkk, I miss gum…

Had I mentioned I was trying to do all of this while always being prepared to battle at a moment's glance? Let me just say: the Exsphere works miracles for a person. It saved me from being incinerated a few times. Me and the book. What Raine would do if I accidentally caught fire to her book… I shuddered at the thought.

"I hate this desert!" I moaned on day four, gulping down a mouthful of water. Surprisingly, we weren't out of water. I thought that I had drank our entire supply. Apparently, looks could be deceiving.

"I know," Lloyd sighed, wiping his brow. Red jacket tied around his waist, the teenager was traveling in his black tank in the desert heat, attempting to keep cool.

"…There's sand in my shoes…"

"Same."

"It _burns_!"

"I kn-"

"If you two do not keep up with the group," Kratos began, his voice full of peril. "Be sure I _will _come over there and cast Fireball."

So that was the first time Kratos actually _spoke_ to me outside of training in the past week. Of course, it was partly to Lloyd, but still. Kratos speaking. Holy crap, it's a sign of the two words reuniting, Kratos is actually being sociable! …I really needed something better to do with my time.

"I think I see some forests up ahead!" Colette chirped. She raised a hand, shading her eyes momentarily, partially squinting. "Professor!"

"Indeed," Raine nodded. "It seems we have arrived ahead of schedule."

I sighed in relief, taking another sip from my bottle. I was surprised no one got sunburned this entire walk. You'd think that Raine and Genis would've gotten a bit crisped, being about as pale as their silver hair but… I was waiting for the logic behind that one.

It had to be late afternoon, maybe. The sun was still high, and the cold front hadn't begun. Yep, see my great time telling skills. Damn it, I needed a watch. Or one of those small portable sundials not made out of forty pounds of marble. Did they even have sundials in Sylvarant? I mean, the Greeks or some ancient civilization figured out how to keep time on Earth, but I wasn't too sure about Sylvarant…

"Grass!" I squealed, spotting the unfamiliar green plant. I immediately dropped to the ground, making my own version of a snow angel in the foliage.

Genis gave me an incredulous look. "I think she's lost it."

"Alex lost something?" Colette asked obliviously, cocking her head. "Alex, what did you loose?"

I could hear a few hands smacking against foreheads, and a clearing of someone's throat. "Now that we have reached more favorable conditions, we should move onward, before it darkens. It is very likely there will be more enemies, now that we are in more habitable circumstances."

Kratos boot landed inches from my hand, and I jumped to my feet. Yes, that guy was THAT intimidating. Don't mind me, Kratos, I'll just be hiding behind Genis for the rest of the journey…

Lloyd pumped a fist into the air as we walked onward. "Yeah! I'm glad to be out of that desert! No more having to piss behind cactuses-"

**SLAP!** Lloyd rubbed his injured head, peering at the hand hovering over him. "Lloyd, language!"

"And it's cacti," Genis corrected, hiding a smirk underneath his hand.

"Don't go all academic on me!" I complained. "My brain's still fried from the desert!"

"Speaking of academics-" Raine turned to me. "Alexa. Twenty minute summary of your book. Now."

"A-A summary?" I repeated, eyes widened. Raine gave me one short nod, and I could feel the sweat form on my forehead. "Ah… well, you see…" I slid the book out from underneath my sleeve, opening to the first page.

"No reading from the book."

The leather covered text was slipped away from my hands, my only chance of life. Genis looked from my side, a cocky grin on his face. "We're waiting."

I stared at the ground, my feet shuffling against the grass. Raine looked at my expression expectantly, and I stuffed my hands into my pockets. "The book went over the events taken place in ancient day Asgard after the establishing of the Church of Martel."

"Alright. And what was the name of that ancient civilization?"

Give me a break, someone, anyone… Wait. Wasn't the ruins very similar to the Balacruf Mausoleum? If that was true, then maybe. "Uh… Balacruf?"

Raine looked at me, and after a moment's silence, shook her head. "No, that is incorrect. The Asgard ruins were on-"

"Stop!"

The bluntly stated command rang through the air, and I inclined my head up. Sheena, hand on her hip, was standing tall on a very… _high_ cliff. She jumped from the edge, her pink ribbons trailing behind her, before landing very grandly at the summit of the cliff.

Lloyd stepped back, surprised. "What?"

Colette tilted her head at once, curious. "Is she a friend of yours, Lloyd?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

Sheena cleared her throat politely, observing each of us. After her eyes fell onto the last of the group, she raised her hand, imposing her question. "Is the Chosen of Mana among you?"

Colette turned obliviously to the female ninja… Kunoichi? "Oh, that's me."

"…Prepare to die." Hand reaching behind her, Sheena drew a handful of cards, fanned out offensively. She advanced, running forward, and Colette, frantically waving her arms, fell back…

"Where's the lever?" I wondered out loud suddenly. Sheena was still coming, at the fallen Colette. No… red lever? I looked at Colette's feet, then faced the edging on assassin.

"_Not everything that took place in the game is going to take place in the exact sequence here! Your very appearance into the game has caused what most would call a Butterfly Effect!"_

So… is this what she meant? I mean, I knew that the Renegade attack never happened, nor did Genis being drawn into the cells with Lloyd. But no lever? Where would Sheena get ever get her 'falling into hole' motto from if this never happened?

"Watch out!"

Without thinking, I had wandered in front of Colette while searching for the small lever. And who was coming to attack Colette? Ding ding ding! Sheena, the ninja assassin! She crashed into me immediately, and I felt myself being pushed over Colette's legs.

I took a rough landing, using my good arm to break my fall. Sheena had a similar idea, except she fell more to the side, over a very familiar trapdoor. As soon as her arms crashed into the wood, there was a single crack, and she fell through.

Colette scrambled to her hands and knees, peeking over the edge of the dark tunnel. "Oh no, what should I do? I did it again…" She turned to me. "I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't mean for you to trip over my legs like that!"

"It's… okay…" I replied numbly. Colette's eyes were wide as she looked into the dark again.

"I hope she's okay…"

"Even assuming her weight to be forty-five kilograms, and this hole to be ten meters deep, and calculating the gravity constant at nine and eight tenths, the impact shouldn't have been fatal."

Metric units…. Damn translators being too lazy to convert…

"Gravity… constant?" said bemused Lloyd. "I don't understand what you said, but she's alive, right?"

Genis thought it over for a second. "Probably."

"Still, man, she's got some bad luck. Falling right on top of a trapdoor and all."

"It's not a trap," Raine observed. "It's a hidden maintenance passage for the mountain path." Raine looked at the broken door. "The wood had probably rotted from age and water decay."

"I did not see that coming," I breathed. Sheena, falling through a rotten door? Excuse me as I go bang my head against that cliff over there and question everything I know and love about Symphonia for a moment…

"What else was there to expect?" Kratos asked simply. I looked up at the tall man, recognizing the glare in his eyes. Alright, so he looked like he wanted to kill me. Big deal. There's your real assassin, buddy! Now leave the poor Earth girl alone…

He turned around to the path, scanning the higher ground. "We should get moving."

Lloyd turned away from the sorrowful Colette. "Hey, shouldn't we try to find out who that woman was?"

Kratos looked over his shoulder. "She'll come after us again on her own. This area is too confined and the footing is poor. It would be wise not to linger."

Lloyd helped Colette to her feet, his face… what was the right word to describe it? Thoughtful? He looked like he was pondering on Kratos' words, in a good way. Like he respected it. I scrambled onto my own feet, brushing the dust off my green shirt.

Colette gazed back down the shaft, and cupped her hands around her mouth. "If you're okay, I'm sorry for tripping Alex and causing you to fall! I hope you'll forgive me."

"Totally wasn't expecting that," I repeated under my breath again. Lloyd turned, pausing in his pace after hearing my comment.

"I don't think any of us did," he shook his head. Shrugging, I continued to linger at the back, as we began up the steep trail.

"Alexa, I still expect you to finish your lecture."

Oh yes, this was going to be a looooong walk.

* * *

**Wohoo! I got to Sheena's entrance! Cheers to the ninja assassin! And I am finally out of the Triet Desert. Wohoo! And now... the unsealing of the remaining seals begin... Of course, not after an epic battle with Sheena and a good walk spent through Ossa Trail.  
Review, please?**


	10. Ossa Trail Hates Me

**Long time no update, right? Sorry about the delay, I've gotten a bit sidetracked. I'm actually going to ATTEMPT to update again during the week, dependant on homework assignments, extra-curricular activities, and inspiration. Yeah, I need my own muse, myself. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, and I hope this chapter meets up to each of your standards! Yikes! I'm in the double digits!**

**~Fukachi no Rin**

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate walking?

If not, I'll say it now: I hate walking.

The Ossa Trail, the nice little pathway through mountains is ten times more tedious than I remembered it from the game, no exaggeration needed. And this is coming from someone who completely missed the save point and got pwned by Sheena's awesome-ninja-skillz the first time she went through the Ossa Trail, therefore getting sent back to her last save point all the way at Triet Ruins. I had been through this dialogue and text far too many times…

Passing the time was very hard. I tried a few camping songs (stopped when Lloyd sang a note so out of tune, even Kratos flinched a little), playing twenty questions (stopped when I found out they didn't have bread boxes in Sylvarant), and a round of 'shoot the squirrel with kendama (ended when Raine threatened to confiscate Genis' weapon and when Lloyd accidentally shot Kratos in the back of the head with an acorn…. That didn't go so well…)

I was out of ideas.

Perhaps I could talk to someone? I scanned over the group.

Lloyd? No, I spoke to him every practice. There was nothing really to talk about, without seeming stalkerish. (Where do you like Lloyd? What's your favorite food, Lloyd? Did you know Kratos is your fa- oh shit! Time portal, ahhh!!!) Like that was going to happen.

Colette? No… If I talked to her… well, I probably would say something about Cruxis being a heap of bull crap and continue onto explaining…

Genis? He MAY have some interesting conversation… but he would probably want to talk about the Academy, which I had no info on. Crap, I needed a better cover story.

Raine? Hah. Haha. Hahaha. No. Chances are, talking to her would lead to another lengthy lecture that I would space out during and get quizzed on later, thus resulting in an equivalent to failing grade… Besides, the Professor hadn't said anything about the twenty minute summary I was to give on the book I "read." Well, she hadn't since we started climbing up the mountain. And I sure as hell wasn't going to remind her.

Kra- I looked at his sheathed sword, hand placed readily at its hilt, and shook my head.

So there went all the candidates… I let out an exhausted sigh, tilting my head back to the sky. The sun was starting to fall, the clouds had mostly cleared themselves from endless space of baby blue. Birds were occasionally soaring overhead, chirping to their hearts content. It was a beautiful day… Even if this place didn't exist…

I snapped. My muse! I could talk to her! I mean, she had a few times sent a few non-verbal messages through my head, most of them being warnings in such. But that meant I could talk to her, right? Well, she was a Mary-Sue, therefore should have SOME sort of mystical power that made her unique to herself such as… Telepathy! I was rambling… alright, try this out.

"_Hello? Mary-Sue Muse??"_ No response. _"I was just wondering if we could… you know, chill and talk? Maybe work out our differences so you could send me home."_ Nothing at all. _"Listen, if you take me out of here, I promise I won't ignore any of your inspirations! I'll even write a good chapter a day!!" _

Nothing. Not a single peep. I began to laugh humorously. Perhaps I was really starting to loose my mind after all…

"Hey Alex? Are you okay?" Lloyd's eyebrows rose up.

"I think she's lost it," Genis stated for the second time this hour.

"I totally haven't lost anything. Can't you tell by how happy and cheery-"

_**CRASH!!!!**_

I started screaming immediately, the faint feeling of weightlessness once more taking hold of me. There were shouts calling after me, from above. An intense pressure was filling my ears, along with an incredibly high ringing.

I really had to get used to this blacking out…

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;**

"Ow… ow…"

I turned my body, something… crunching beneath me. Wow. Either someone really loved me out there or I was just plain lucky. Ladies and gentlemen, my fall had been broken by a bunch of hay and boxes.

Sure, I still was in pain. My legs had been bent in the most awkward position, and probably had remained that way ever since I fell into unconsciousness. On the top of that, my back had landed very nicely on my still sheathed sword. Probably would bruise by the end of the day.

"Ah… crap…" I sat up, picking up the remains of my practice sword. The skinned and lightweight sparring stick had been snapped completely into two pieces, wrecked of any means of usefulness. Great. Kratos will be pissed.

I looked back up at the hole in the ceiling I had left. Yeah, I had fallen through a trapdoor. Or maintenance passage. Wow, wouldn't Sheena and I get along very well?

"Hello?" I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled above. "Lloyd? Genis? Colette?" Aw man. Did they walk on without me? That wasn't very nice. I mean, sure, I could understand them leaving Sheena, she being an assassin and all, but leaving a team-

Shiiiiiiiiit! Sheena! If I ran into the Mizuhoin Ninja here, I would more than likely get my ass handed back to me. Considering she had about as much hitpoints as a Ktugachling that almost killed me… I shuddered at the thought. Get moving. Right. Maybe if I ran fast enough…

The door at the opposite wall budged. Pebbles fell from the top frame, indicating its jammed position. _Irony much?_

Sheena! Damn it, she must've heard me fall through! Screw everything I said earlier – some force out there hates my guts, and I'm pretty sure it has blue hair and purple eyes! The door moved an inch, still not swinging easily. Doing the first thing that came to mind, I leapt behind the pile of hay, abstracting my body from any common view.

The door finally burst open, followed by the echoing of heels clicking. I sucked in a breath, reaching for the hilt of my sword, and wrapping my fingers around the base. The steps came closer… Closer… Damn it, maybe I could scare her off…

I let out a battle cry, and lifting my sword high above my head, charged straight forward. "Woah!"

Two metal blades met mine, and sparks flew in my face. "Lloyd?"

"Alex?" He looked slightly surprised by my appearance, his face wearing a frown. But nevertheless, it was Lloyd. The one and only, blinding red jacket, gray pants, and brown suspenders. That and the blue exsphere. I think he had the exsphere, anyway. It was really hard to tell when he was using his swords to block…

"What are you doing here?" I asked immediately, taking my sword away from his. Lloyd sheathed his dual blades, pushing them back to their scabbards with a faint 'click' before he looked back at me.

"Well, after you fell in, I sorta jumped in after you-"

"You jumped in after me?" I blinked in disbelief. Lloyd had hardly known me for… almost two weeks and he risked his life for me? Maybe he was friendly in the game, but this amount of sacrifice… unless his personality was dramatically altered as well when I entered the game…

"Well, after you fell in, I sorta got a bit worried. And we couldn't afford to send anyone else so..." Lloyd shrugged uncaringly. "You were out cold when I landed, so I decided to take a peek around."

"Did you find the assassin?" I asked, worried. Lloyd shook his head. "We should probably look for a way out of here then, before she finds us."

Lloyd nodded. "Agreed."

Holding my sword carefully in front of my body, I approached the door, and flung it open. The dark hallway was revealed, lit by a few torches spaced and held against the wall. How the hell did those things stay lit, anyway? In theory, they eventually should run out of whatever chemical or substance, slash burn it away. Then again, this world came from a video game. And all video games defied logic at least once in its time.

One of the flightless bird monsters, the one that looked like a decedent of a dodo(axe beak I think, real lame name), hobbled out from the other corner. I could hear Lloyd whisper 'monster,' and in a moment, he rushed in front of me, his swords taken from their sheaths. His moves were quick and precise when he sliced cleanly into the monster's skin. There was no fault, only attacks.

"That was… good," I breathed, taken back. Lloyd rose an eyebrow, putting away his swords once more. "How did you do that?"

"I've been practicing," he replied coolly, shrugging it off as if were nothing.

"Huh." Yeah, Lloyd had been practicing. I was the one he usually practiced his new moves on (the day before he learned Sword Rain was not a pleasant experience.) But I had never seen him use such a combination of attacks so smoothly, so fluidly. It was as if we had time skipped to the end of the game, where he held the title 'Eternal Swordsman' and could actually kick Kratos' ass.

Lloyd looked embarrassed suddenly. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"What? No. Just… thinking." I looked away from the dual swordsman, who turned his head in response as well. So, I spaced out. Big deal…

Lloyd began to lead this time, footsteps echoing in each drawn out motion. His heels were clicking, faintly against the cavern floors. Lloyd continued to hang his arms loosely at his side as I walked a good foot diagonal to him in the dark passage.

I didn't like this darkness. At any moment, I felt as if a monster would jump out of the corner, proceeding to massacre us. The uncertainty, the confusion… I resisted the urge to grab one of Lloyd's tail fabrics, for guidance in these mysterious tunnels…

"Where do you think the next seal is?"

I looked up for a minute, confused. "What?"

"The next seal," Lloyd repeated, sounded a bit frustrated. "You know, where the Chosen will come closer to world regeneration."

"Oh that." I did a little half shrug. "Probably going to be on another continent, you know, after what Remiel said…" Lloyd nodded. "I don't like that guy," I blurted out.

Lloyd cocked his head. "Why not?"

"He's just so…" I waved my hands in front of me. "Cryptic. He has a certain, malevolent atmosphere around him…"

I half expected Lloyd to ask what 'malevolent' meant. He didn't, though. "What about you? What do you think about Remiel?"

"Me?" Lloyd pointed at himself, surprised. I nodded back, and he let out a breath, his eyebrows furrowing. "I think… he's just trying to do the right thing. He may come off as a bit… gloomy of a figure, but he looks like he's just trying to guide the Chosen of Mana to the regeneration of Sylvarant."

"Yeah, I- is that an exit?" I gestured to the bright blinding light, pushing itself further past the end of the hallway. Running past Lloyd, I sprinted to the opposite end. There was the wooden door, the one that flipped down when Sheena exited, and I pushed hard against it. It collapsed with a loud thud, and after squinting at the scenery, I ran out.

The area was just as I had seen it in the game: a small clearing, with a large tree hanging over the entrance to the cave. As I stepped out into the new landscape, I heard one distinct voice, calling out from above me:

"Alex!"

I looked up the trail immediately, spotting the group. Except for one thing. That blur, that blinding blaze of red color was there, with the rest of them, waving at me from nearly the top of the trail. Colette, Genis, Raine, and Kratos… The four of them accompanied Lloyd as they began to rush down.

But wasn't Lloyd-

"Stop!"

A knife came to my throat at once, and the same forearm covered by a blinding red jacket pressed against my shoulders. My hair was being tugged upward, exposing my neck.

I could hear the steps stop, followed by a chorus of gasps. "What the-"

"There are two Lloyds?" Genis exclaimed, sounding a bit confused himself.

"T-that's impossible! I'm me! I've been with you guys all along!" Lloyd defended himself. "Damn it, what the hell is going on?"

"The assassin, I presume."

"Heh. You're not so stupid after all." That was Lloyd's voice, coming from behind me. Except it wasn't. It had the more mysterious edge, the darker undertone to its pitch. It wasn't the Lloyd I knew.

There was a gentle poof, and smoke surrounded around me. When I opened my eyes, purple arm guards covered the arm pressed against my shoulders, and the hand gripping the knife was definitely one of a woman's. "Hand over the Chosen of Mana or your friend dies!"

A silence filled the air, as a shocked expression past Colette's face. Lloyd looked a bit shaken himself, as did Genis. Raine… she had a sad look on her face, and Kratos kept his stony cold face more than ever.

Then Lloyd began arguing.

"Don't you realize who this is? This is the Chosen! She's going to save everyone! Why do you want to kill her if…" Lloyd's voice trailed, and I could hear Sheena suck in a breath. "If you kill her, it'll be like killing everyone who is suffering!"

Sheena suddenly tensed up. "Don't you think I know that?!" she practically screeched.

"Then you should understand why we wouldn't forfeit the Chosen."

"Mr. Kratos…" Colette whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Unfortunate to you, Ms. Assassin, the child you are using to threaten us is of little use. She's been traveling with us for a few days, yes, but by no means is a necessary asset." Either Kratos was a really good liar or I was fucking screwed. Choice A, Choice A please…

Lloyd's eyes widened. "Kratos, what are you-"

"He's right!" Genis elbowed Lloyd deep in the gut, and the teenager crouched over. "I never really liked her anyway. It be so much easier if we just got rid of her."

"So… you mean-"

"Go ahead and kill her," Kratos said. Now, forgetting my own personal safety concern, Sheena's hand was shaking like crazy, the same one against my neck. I wasn't too sure if she had planned to kill me originally (I had been hoping that Kratos or Genis would magic my way out of there), but by the way Sheena was reacting, I was pretty sure she DIDN'T want to kill wastefully. Why? Because I was still alive!

…Wait. Could that mean that Kratos figured this out and was trying to help me? Now that I thought about, Genis was acting a bit more spiteful than before. Heck, I didn't even know the kid had a grudge against me! Maybe… Just maybe then…

"See if we care."

They were trying to help me…

"What are you guys doing?"

Then just maybe…

Maybe…

Grabbing the dagger, the weapon I had been given by my Muse the day I met her in the medical store, I took it out of its sheath for the first time. I had mostly kept it hidden under the hem of my shirt, thus why Sheena hadn't seen it before. She was too distracted, by her own distraught, and remained that way until I plunged the dagger into her thigh.

Sheena let out a cry, her whole body suddenly tensing up from my abrupt attack. Her hand dropped the knife she had held to my throat, and all the chaos began immediately.

"Wind Blade!"

Kratos' spell hit the assassin hard in the stomach, sending her flying meters back. I had fallen to my knees at this point, grabbing onto my elbows and rocking back and forth. I had stabbed someone. With a really pointy object. There was blood on my shirt from when the blood splattered out, and a puddle on the dirt. I had STABBED Sheena Fujibayashi, almost up to the hilt with a sharp dagger, and damn it, she was probably going to hate me for that.

How was Sheena? Well, she was fine. You know, despite the fact she was on one knee, her hand covering most of the wound, she still had the 'I am a dangerous ninja' look. Kratos had taken a step further, his eyes set on the attacker. "D…don't move!" she commanded, her voice shaking.

"A wise decision," Raine agreed.

Reaching behind her with a free hand, Sheena grabbed out a green card, holding it dangerously across her face. "I won't be caught off guard this time!" she bellowed, rising onto her feet. She pinched both ends of the card and tore it into two, dropping it to the ground. After a few moments, the guardian, the Wind Guardian appeared.

"Prepare to die!"

Sheena began with her advancement, a handful of cards facing out from her palm. She was coming straight for Colette, who had promptly tripped over her own two feet, before Kratos positioned and blocked her attack.

"Kratos!" Lloyd whipped out his blades, running to his teacher, but soon was confronted by a very large enemy. The Wind Guardian slashed its claws towards the fiery spirited teen, whom managed to block the attack with an 'X.'

Kratos heard the attacks coming to his son, a grimace passing his face. He rotated his body, kicking the assassin straight in the stomach, sending her flying back again.

Sheena put out a hand and turned herself through a backflip. "I'm not finished!" she shouted, taking out another deck of cards. Spell cards ready, she dashed forward and flung one at the auburn haired mercenary.

As soon as it landed at his chest, Sheena yelled, "Pyre Seal!" The famous Mizuhoin ninja made a hand symbol with these words, and the card literally exploded. For the first time, I don't think Kratos had seen that coming. He was knocked back some, still on his feet though, his hand holding where he had been hit.

Kratos looked to his side quickly, eyes flashing to Lloyd. Lloyd looked like he was having a little trouble soloing the massive Wind Guardian. Where was the magic casting half elf when you needed him? "Alexa!" Kratos barked, causing me to jump a little. He didn't bother waiting for my response, only a brisk, "Help Lloyd!" was his command before he resumed his duel with Sheena.

Wow, I felt special. The guy just told me to help his son. That was a lot of trust there. Trust or "you're here so do something." Whatever. There was a reason Sheena was my favorite character first game play anyway.

I drew out my sword, gulping once. Lloyd looked like he was having just a bit trouble with the guardian. Meaning, well, Alexa was going to have loooooots of trouble. Maybe piling the guy with as many techs as I had – no wait, I couldn't because I hadn't gotten any techs since I came here. Just to make the odds even more unfair, huh?

The Wind Guardian rose a claw, throwing Lloyd to the ground. "Lloyd!" I shouted, sprinting to his side. I caught a fair glimpse of the teenager when he pushed himself to his feet, taking a moment to realize how bad he really was. A thin scratch had started from his forehead across to his nose, his eyes were tired and worn, and his jacket was torn in a few places.

He used one sword to steady himself. "Man… this guy is tough… Got any Apple Gels?"

"I might," I said thoughtfully, removing my bag and digging through the contents. I found what I was looking for, the Apple Gel, and handed it to Lloyd. He ingested the disc, and his eyes lit up with energy.

"I got a plan," Lloyd nodded, eyes impassive. "But I'm going to need you and Genis to coordinate with each other. Think you can work it out with him?"

"Yeah," I replied. "What do you need us to do?"

"Alright, tell Genis to cast Lightning on the…" He pointed at the Guardian. "Thing. When he does, I want you to attack both his arms. Try not to get hit."

I nodded. "Alright. What about you?"

"It's a secret," he grinned, and before I got my answer, he ran off to distract the monster.

Oh, fudgenuggets. I really hoped Lloyd had a good plan at hand, else we'd be in a bunch of trouble soon. I jogged to Genis, the half elf with a nice rune under his feet. "Hey midget."

"Hey failure," he replied coolly. "Fireball!"

"Lloyd's got a plan. But he needs both of our cooperation."

"Yeah, alright. What do I have to do?"

"Cast Lightning on the Guardian," I informed him, pointing at the large creature. Genis nodded, and a new rune appeared beneath his feet. "Lloyd!" I yelled, gaining his attention at once. Lloyd nodded, moving out of the way, and I ran towards the Guardian next, as the lightning bolt struck him.

With my sword out, I slashed at its first arm, causing it to stumble a bit. Good. Running behind it, I ran to the next side and lifted my arm to strike.

The Guardian turned its head, and without hesitation, slashed its claws across my stomach. Pain rose, sharp and thick. I grabbed my stomach with my bad hand, blood layering my palm.

"Alex! Damn it!" Lloyd rushed forward, both swords at his side. He was glowing again, the same faint blue he had been in the Triet Ruins. That was when he used… Fierce Demon Fang? That couldn't be right. Lloyd didn't learn that technique until maybe the fourth seal… Maybe it was just a special he could use? "Tempest!"

Lloyd leaped into the air, and for a split second, I could see him place his swords both in front and behind him. He then began the circle, spinning from the front all the way to the back. Both swords sliced through the Guardian, a crooked line in the front following though the head and to the back. Lloyd landed on his feet, out of breath, before Genis yelled, "Lloyd, watch out!"

Lloyd looked back behind him, and jumped out of the way before the wooden wheel from the Guardian's back landed right where he had been. It landed with a 'thump,' followed by the collapsing of the Guardian altogether.

"No!" Sheena glanced from her battle, distracted. Kratos took advantage, slicing once cleanly horizontally. Two wounds opened at her arms, and Sheena flinched. Kratos hadn't finished though.

He lifted a fist, electricity crackling around it. "Lightning!" he yelled, releasing his palm. The streams of purple electricity flew, hitting the assassin.

Sheena sorta… fell to a knee, using one of her hands to support herself. "Damn…" she swore. Looking up under two glaring eyes, she threatened, "Just you wait. I'll kill you all next time!" A black sphere was in her hand, and she threw it at the ground. Smoke clouded my vision, and when it cleared, Sheena was gone.

"Wait!" Lloyd coughed. He looked around him, noticing the same scene we all had. The Guardian was gone as well, all that remained was a piece of the wooden wheel it originally had when we fought it. "Why are people trying to kill us?"

Kratos looked mildly surprise, for the first time this journey. "There are always those who reject salvation."

"Maybe she's a Desian," Genis suggested. Kratos looked at the boy, eyes thoughtful.

"Who knows? At any rate, we are at constant danger." Kratos crossed his arms over his chest.

Colette looked at her side, her eyes lit up. "Oh, Alex, are you alright?"

"Just great," I replied. "How about you, Colette? I mean, you _are_ the one who had an assassin just trying to kill you."

"Oh, well, I didn't get hurt at all, so I think I can forgive her. Besides," Colette smiled. "-I hope we run into her again!"

"What?" Lloyd exclaimed. "Why would you want that? She just tried to kill you!"

"Well, I'm sure if we talked, we could be friends!"

There was a short silence, along with Genis slapping his head. "So, time to find a ship?" I cued in.

"Yeah," Lloyd replied. "Yeah, let's go find a ship!"

We started walking, through the path out of the trail, before I managed to scrounge up the courage to ask a certain mercenary a very good question. "Hey, Kratos." He stopped momentarily in his tracks, and I could've sworn I saw a subtle movement to his sword. Ignoring this gesture, I continued. "You weren't serious when you told She- when you told her, the Assassin, that she could kill me, were you?"

The quiet mercenary didn't respond, or even indicate he had heard me. Instead, ignoring my question, he started to walk again.

That answered that question. Looking back at the scene, I noticed something. A glint of metal… The dagger, still coated with a layer of crimson. Sheena must've pulled it out… Crouching over, I picked up the weapon and wiped the blade on the inside of my torn shirt, before running off to catch up with the rest of the group.

I was going to have lots of enemies if I didn't pull myself together soon.

* * *

**Yep, yep, they are out of Ossa Trail. And next chapter is where the fun starts... hehe, I'm evil, aren't I? Thanks for reading!**


	11. Someone has a Crush on Aifread!

**Here lies the annoying thing known as the Author's Note:**

**So, I know I haven't updated in a loong time. And here I am, giving a fillerish chapter for my first update in weeks! I am a horrible person, aren't I? On the bright side, my spring break is next week, meaning a window of opportunity to update! A bunch! Wohoo!! So on the news side, I'm seriously considering rewriting some parts of the two chapters prior to this one. The reason behind that is that I feel I could have written them about ten times better. There that and on another note, I am considering changing the title of this insert. I'm still running through ideas, and one of them that is looking nice in my head is 'Ripple Effect.' I dunno, I'm still having thoughts about that. Summary will stay pretty much the same, so, there we go! **

**ShadowVDP: Haha, I can't WAIT to write that moment. I was partly thinking about that when writing, about Alex apologizing to Sheena for stabbing her. Ohhh the awkwardness... Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing!**

**whatsername427: The element is surprise was the weapon I was trying to use there. I'm really glad it worked! Thanks to you too, for reviewing!**

**Thus here ends my author's note: thanks for everyone who reviewed! I'm pretty sure everyone can tell, but I love reviews! ;D **

**~Fukachi no Rin**

**Disclaimer: FnR does not own Tales of Symphonia. She does, however, own a copy of the new Pokemon game and has ever since been using that as a distraction during her classes...  
**

"That was awesome!"

I turned around to – wait, prediction time. In ten seconds, Kratos will be rolling his eyes. I turned around to Lloyd, a grin on my face. "What's so awesome, Lloyd?"

"Did you see that attack?" he half exclaimed, pointing back at the mountains. "I jumped into the air! And went in a circle! I killed that stupid thing with my new skill!" A broad grin plastered on his face, he turned his gaze to Kratos. "I guess I'm getting really good, aren't I, Kratos?"

Kratos rolled his eyes – bam, someone owed me 500 Gald – at the red clad teenager. "You skills have been improving, at the very least, however, it would be premature to say you are 'getting really good'."

Lloyd hooked his hands behind his head, taking his turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I still think it was awesome."

"…" Kratos faced ahead, continuing to lead the rest.

I stuffed my hands consciously into my pockets. It was hard to do when you had a huge sword on your waist. "Shouldn't we stop for camp? It's starting to get a little dark…"

A grin appeared on Genis' face. "What? Afraid of the dark, Alex?"

"Me? No, I'm just speaking on te-"

"_**RAAWR!!**_" Two hands grabbed my shoulders, giving a firm push as a deep voice roared into my ear. I screamed, jumping ten feet into the air and breaking into my own breathing fit. By the time I stopped hyperventilating, Lloyd was using his knees for support, trying not to die from laughter.

"So Alex _is_ afraid of the dark!" he said in between his harsh giggles.

"_**Irving, you are dead!!!"**_

* * *

"Woah! What is that?"

"That would be the ocean, Lloyd."

"There's a lot of water!"

"That's because it's _the ocean_, Lloyd."

"Hey, what's 'oh-shin'?"

"It's a large body of saltwater usually expanding across – oh nevermind," Genis raised his arms, giving up. "It's a lot of water."

Lloyd flinched as he saw his sorcerer friend raise his hands, looking mildly scared himself. "Don't hit me, please! My cheek still hurts from when Alex slapped me last night!"

"Hey!" I objected. "You deserved it!"

I could see Colette giggle some, and she apologetically hid her smile under a hand. Colette wasn't laughing at Lloyd's misery. She was too nice to do that! She was probably remembering the entire process involving me chasing Lloyd for about twenty minutes before I could finally land a good strike on his face. "Is that Izoold over there?" He pointed to the distance, at the small grouping of shacks further away. Turning my head, I stared at the glassy water, and at the sunbeams reflected lightly over its surface.

Raine nodded. "Izoold is a seafaring town. If we are lucky, we will be able to find someone who is bringing a ship across the sea to Palmacosta."

"Palmacosta?" Genis repeated, eyes perking. "That means we'll be able to see the academy!"

I moaned. "The academy…" _Of all the excuses I picked, I chose the one that probably had the best record keepers in all of Sylvarant!_ "Do you think we could avoid that place for a while?"

"Why's that?" Genis asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Some of us… don't have really well loved names around those parts of the town…"

"Oh…" Genis looked at the ground, this time looking very depressed. Poor tyke. He really _did_ want to see Palmacosta Academy. _Ack, sorry Genis, but your happiness is totally worth sacrificing if it means I can STAY on this journey._

"If you are afraid of meeting your teachers, you can always stand outside while we tour the building," Raine suggested lightly.

"Uh.... well..."

"Why don't we discuss it more when we arrive there?"

"Um, ok Professor…"

So maybe I was a bit screwed when we got to Palmacosta. No problem! I might just get deposited back to Palmacosta, while everyone else traveled to release the rest of the seals. If I was lucky, I probably could go back to the Renegade Base in Triet Desert and wait around until after the Tower of Salvation. If I explained everything there, and pretended to be a Renegade spy… Yeah, I was screwed.

"This one is Pookie! Pookie! Pookie!" Colette chirped. The brown spotted dog yapped, rubbing its skull against the blonde's dress, and Colette giggled promptly. "Alex, are you cold? You look like you're shivering!"

"I'm fine, Colette," I assured her. As soon as we entered Izoold, my whole body had begun shaking. Yes, I was shaking. I was on the edge of freaking out here, mostly because I didn't think I was getting past PALMACOSTA of this adventure. I'm hoping for a miracle, some sort of miracle of any kind…

"Aifread! Aifread, please wait!"

The six of us stopped in our tracks, as a woman with long red hair pushed herself _through_ our group. Her eyes were bright, and she looked like she had spent hours in front of a mirror applying all make-up in Sylvarant. Nevertheless, this was Lyla, that one lady in Symphonia who didn't really do much except get us a ride to Palmacosta.

…Wait. Whose name did she call again?

"Aifread!" she repeated, and I could feel my heart stop in my throat. A man further ahead stopped, and turned his body slowly. He was young, perhaps in his mid twenties or such. Cleanly shaven, shining golden locks, and a fairly worn uniform on, I could see how this woman fell for him so easily. Go Aifread, being such a ladies man!

"Lyla, what is it?" he asked her nicely, and I swore I saw him bow the slightest. Oh, he was a gentleman too. Alright, I'll shut up here.

"I, um, was… I was wondering if… Well, my mother…" She stammered awkwardly, a blush creeping to her cheeks. "Would you like to have dinner tonight at my house? My mother and I are cooking seafood stew, and would be very honored if you came!"

Aifread brought a hand to his chin, eyes thoughtful. "I would be delighted," he smiled back, and I could see Lyla's eyes light up with joy. This woman was over her heels for him! A grin spread across her face, and after she waved, she skipped off.

So if this meant Aifread was here, that meant that Lyla never needed to get a letter delivered across the ocean to Luin to her beloved Aifread. That and we couldn't use a guilt device on poor Max if we refused to deliver the letter! Meaning, we were totally not going to Palmacosta!

Wait… Oh goodness… Dear goodness… "I'm going to restock our supplies. Mr. Aurion, could you please check the docks to see if any ships are sailing?" Kratos nodded back at the half elven woman, turning to the other direction and smoothly walking away. Everything had suddenly made sense in my mind.

The HARD path. I had heard its name far too many times, and now was starting to figure out why. We were going on the HARD path.

I was going to die.

"_You're not going to die,"_ my Muse announced in the back of my head. Well, well, look who shows up when I most need her! _"Well, I've calculated the possibilities and your death isn't among any of them. You see, this is what happens when you don't pay attention to my warnings about the Butterfly Effect!"_

"_What about Lloyd and the others? There's no way we're all going to live through this!"_

"_I already went through their calculations as well,"_ she replied. _"And I've already – oh, nevermind, I'll speak to you further another night."_

"_Glad to know I'm important enough for you to talk to!"_

She paused. _"Of course you're important. Mademoiselle Alexa, I'll be speaking to you in another few nights. I must attend to some business of my own."_ I tried calling after her a few times("Get back here you stupid Mary Sue Muse!!!!") in my mind, but got no avail. Fun. Just in time for shopping with Raine.

I caught my reflection in the water, and found myself staring. Wow. I looked like a mess. My shirt had a nice tear from our last battle, my shorts had a noticeable bloodstain as well from the certain stabbing of Sheena. Usually, I didn't care about my clothing, but seeing as how we've just left the desert and we have some distance to travel before the next town… I made a face.

Raine muttered various calculations to herself as she browsed through the goods at the General Store. Meanwhile, I was counting up the money I had saved up from our few battles. Luckily, well lucky for me anyway, the store had a stock of adventurer's clothing just for occasions such as this. The bad news: they were all men's clothing. After purchasing the green garb and navy pants for a hundred Gald, I was considering hunting down a green pointy hat and wooden shield.

"There are no boats sailing," Kratos announced in a dead tone when we met him at the docks. He looked mildly annoyed by the news himself.

Genis let out an exasperated sigh. "Man! What are we supposed to do now?"

"I've heard rumors around town about another path," Raine mused, crossing her arms over her chest. "North from here, there's a wooden bridge that connects both continents. If we cross over that bridge, then we may be able to find information about the seals in the local towns."

"You think Remiel could be a bit more specific…" I muttered. "Go to a place across the sea and you will find more land…."

"Alexa!"

"What? I'm just trying to make a point!"

* * *

I swear I needed to think of a game to keep myself entertained during walking, else I was going to go insane.

On the brighter side, I managed to find a time to change. I was now in my loose very dark navy pants and green tunic shirt. If it weren't for the belt, my pants would've fallen down a long time ago. Ehh, whatever, I liked baggy clothing. It was comfortable to wear, even if it weren't jeans and screen t-shirts.

It was like I'm slowly turning more Symphonic as the time goes by…

"Hey Kratoooss…" I started, stuffing my hands in my pockets. I received one death glare from the purple suited mercenary, and before I lost all courage, I asked with the best Colette-puppy-expression I could manage, "Can I pleeeeeaaase skip practice today?"

"…It all depends. Do you wish to live?"

I felt my mind freeze in pure terror. "Is that a threat or are you speaking logically?"

"Think it however you wish. I am merely imposing a question."

And thus was the end of that conversation. I guess I was training later tonight.

I wasn't really too sure why I had been going along with this the entire time. I mean, we were heading to Hima, not on a boat towards Palmacosta, and _I was okay with it._ I wasn't afraid that we were about to start the 'hard path' and that I was about to encounter every enemy and boss a few scenes too early. My Muse had told me everything was going to be alright, and I was _going with it._ Something must've been really wrong with me and if I was on Earth, I'd be begging someone to send me to an asylum RIGHT THEN.

The beginning of walk to Hima had proven to be long, tedious, and did I mention long? It was like someone had dumped us back into the Triet Desert, except there was no desert. I'm running out of metaphors, mkay? Two days just to get from Izoold to the bridge, and then the crossing over was… horrible. The first set of enemies we ran into was a cockatrice (the big reptile chicken looking thingy) and a grasshopper.

"This is going to be tough…" Lloyd said thoughtfully as we ran into the said monster pair. I could feel my hand growing sweaty already around my sword hilt. This battle was looking very bad, and we hadn't even started!

The cockatrice started its rampage towards Genis first, stomping its feet madly. Genis yelped, jumping out of the way before he got pecked to death. Kratos jumped over there in a flash and was beginning to fight off the cockatrice. He was blocking off its claws and beak, avoiding being stabbed by either of the two while keeping an eye on everyone else.

I took out my sword, trying to hold it straight in front of me. My arms were wobbling from the anxiety, the fact that we were in our first battle over on the other side with HARDER monsters. I spaced my feet out evenly, hoping they would serve well as my balance as I watched the grasshopper. I was a good ten feet away, meaning if it tried to attack I should be safe-

The grasshopper shot one of its green… spheres. I could see it flying at an abnormally fast rate towards my face, and part of myself _couldn't_ jump out of the way. I was stuck there, frozen in pure fear and terror, and the projectile was coming closer.

Something – _someone_ collided with my side, pushing myself out of the way. "Guardian! Pay more attention!" Kratos barked.

"I'm _trying,_" I hissed through gritted teeth, getting back onto my feet. Keeping the grip on my sword hard, I ran to the grasshopper. I was going to prove Kratos wrong. I was going to do something.

The grasshopper swung down one of its sharp arms, the ones shaped like a crescent moon. I was really wishing I had a shield of some sort as I dodged out of the way. The tip of its hooked arm was stuck in the dirt, and taking advantage of this, I jumped to the side and bringing my arms and sword high above my head, I sliced vertically down. My sword dug a good three inches into the diameter of the grasshopper's arm, and a thick green liquid began to… ooze out of the wound. "Be careful not to let the green toxin directly touch your skin! It is highly poisonous!"

I nodded numbly back, wriggling my sword free. More green sputtered onto the ground, and I backed out of the way. There was green on my blade as well – this was sorta disgusting. I flicked the toxin to the side, off the edge of my blade.

Lloyd came up at my side. "Kratos is concentrating on that thing that looks like a chicken – he said that we should be able to defeat this thing if we try really hard."

"Assuring," I replied, watching the grasshopper. I blinked once, then twice, trying to refocus my vision. My eyes were playing tricks on me, because for a second, I swore I saw two grasshoppers. I looked to my side, realizing the taller Lloyd was staring, and asked promptly, "What?"

Lloyd pointed at my hand, and I lifted it, looking at the back. The green liquid was splattered on the back of my hand, in small quantities. Already I could feel my head going light, along with the first few waves of nausea. "I'll be fine," I said, stabbing my sword into the ground. "Take on the grasshopper while I try to find a potion."

"I got one." Lloyd handed me the vial, and said soon after, "Don't take too long."

Lloyd rushed forward, swords at his side as he began dodging the swings of the grasshopper. I pulled off the cork from the vial, prying it from the wax, and gulped down the contents. Huh. Tasted a little like grapefruit juice. Already I could feel the powerful urge to throw up and the dizziness fading.

There was a scream from the side, and I turned to it. Genis, being left alone to the cockatrice, had been struck by its status effect: petrify. It started at his feet, and slowly, the spell worked its way up, completely solidifying the half-elf into a cold statue.

Kratos swore under his breath. As much as I hated the guy, I felt sorry for him. He was probably the only one here who could even defeat any of these monsters, and he was stuck protecting a bunch of wimpy teenagers. "Chosen, if I were to open a window of opportunity, would you be able to use the new spell you obtained from Cruxis?"

"Angel Feathers?" Colette asked. Kratos gave one dead nod, and Colette smiled. "I could try! I'll do my best, Mr. Kratos!"

Colette started the very familiar incantations, as Kratos ran to the cockatrice to keep it occupied. When it tried to attack the spiky haired mercenary (or petrify) him, he simply dodged. I started to assist Lloyd with grasshopper, this time making sure to pay attention to the green slimy projectiles. Lloyd got hit by one, and began to stumble a bit. He was also turning very green…

"Angel Feathers!" Colette shouted her spell's name. Pink feathers unraveled from her wings, each launching themselves across the battlefield. In a bright flash of light, Kratos ducked, and the two enemies, the cockatrice and grasshopper, were taken down.

Lloyd stabbed his sword into the ground (he seemed to be doing that more often now) and let out an exhausted sigh. "…That wasn't horrible, now was it?"

"Lloyd, we totally would've gotten our butts kicked if it weren't for Colette!" I exclaimed. Two poisonings, one petrification, and lots of wounds later, we had won. Barely, though…

_The hard path is seriously living up to its name._ To add onto the monsters that petrified and poisoned, Raine still hadn't learned Recover, thus leading us to rely all on items. I was hoping she learned Recover soon, or else we'd have to start carrying stone statues wherever we went. Which wasn't a good idea, considering the fact that only one of us would probably be willing to carry Kratos around if he got turned to stone. I wasn't calling Kratos weak, it's just that guy wasn't God. He will get injured sometime, and I'm hoping it's sometime that Raine could actually heal him!

If there was anything good from the 'hard path,' it was Kratos' training getting cancelled. Raine said it might be a good idea for the entire group to stick together when we were camping, seeing as how screwed we'd be if we ran into a monster outside with our forces cut in half. Kratos was fine with it, but when he was told he couldn't train Lloyd and I around the campfire, well, he was obviously pissed until he finally did settle at the campfire.

I tossed underneath the bedspread for the twentieth time that night, and sat up. It was official. I was having a hard as hell time sleeping tonight.

Pushing off the covers, I pried myself away from the warmth of my bed, the cold air hitting me. Lloyd was snoring, again, as he always seemed to when he slept. Colette was out, as was Genis, and Raine was… sleeping? The realization hit me hard, followed by a wave of horror. Oh no…. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Maybe I should just pretend to-

"You should be resting, Miss Embers."

-be sleeping.

I landed back in bed, and turned over to my stomach, propping my chin up with my hands. "Can't sleep. Too afraid that I'm going to wake up talking to Martel tomorrow."

"I assure you I can keep night watch," Kratos Aurion replied back. Ouch, he sounded a bit insulted. I apologize if I damaged your ego, Mister Aurion!

"You probably can, but you've kinda been making a point to prove that my life ISN'T safe in your hands."

"You consistently make the point, as well, that your life isn't safe in your own hands."

I clamped my mouth shut, deciding just to… stare. I was looking at the woods, the dark shadow surrounding them, as well as the leaves on the trees, falling with the gentlest wind. "Hey Kratos…" I started. I didn't get the faintest response, and instead of waiting, decided to continue. "This has been bothering me for a while, but why… why did you have me use a sword? I mean, I know I'm the one who bought one but you…" I clenched a fist underneath my chin. "You were always pushing towards me using a sword. Why is that?"

I waited, for what seemed like forever in the night. All I could hear was the crickets chirping, the owls singing, and a few wolves howling. After my long wait, I got my answer. "The way you naturally move, and the technique you use to ward off magic, are both similar to the style of an ancient civilization, one from long ago. One of their main weapons was a sword. I was merely following through a conjecture."

"Huh…" I replied. "So are you telling me you actually thought I could be good at using a sword?"

"Not necessarily," Kratos replied, his voice dark. "You still have much work to do before you may be able to uphold your swordplay skills at praise. Or any battle styles, for that manner." I finally found the tree he was stationed at. It took me a while, but I was able to make out the edge of the swallowed tailed cape underneath the moonlight. That and the fact Noishe was right next to the tree help. "Get some rest. The battles grow more dangerous as we move further, and your survival will be dependant on your ability to adapt."

"Um, yeah, okay." I turned away, back underneath my covers. Looking up to the sky, I could spot out many stars. No matter how well I knew the sky was fake, I was having trouble not trying to guess which star was Venus, which one Sirius, and which one was Earth…

* * *

**Yes, I am evil. I will be ending here, and starting the Hard Path next chapter. Or having the beginnings. And for the fun of it, I'm playing my file on ToS without any EXP bonus. Cockatrices are very hard to defeat when you're really weak... Thanks for reading! I'm off to play Pokemon Heart Gold!  
**


	12. Does anyone got a Panacea Bottle?

**Notice the title change? Yes, this is still Regrets of a Self Insert...**

**Yes, I'm back! On the end of Spring Break with another update! I'm going to try my best to get at least one, maybe two, chapters by the end of the week! I'm working towards getting some longer chapters soon, but please work with this almost 3,000 words segment! Also, anyone see the RAW of the Tethe'alla arc section of the anime? It's looking cool except there's no subtitles! Anyway...**

**ShadowVDP: Heart Gold is amazing! Unfortunately, I haven't gotten very far... I'm stuck at Jasmine's Gym right now...**

**Whatsername427: The Hard Path.... Hahaha! I kinda figured it be funny to go through the hard path, in a evil sense of humor... And yes, some MIGHT notice if you snuck a few Rheairds, but not a few Rare Candies. ^_^ Heart Gold... I am frustrated with it. Must get some levels in!!!**

**Here's the chapter and Happy April Fools!!!**

**~Fukachi no Rin**

**Disclaimer: FnR does not own Tales of Symphonia. She does own the few jokes she inserts into these disclaimers though....  
**

"Can I _please_ skip breakfast?"

"If you do not eat, you will not have the strength to carry yourself through the remainder of the day."

"Look at it. It's _gross_."

"Its physical appeal is irrelevant to its true taste."

"Then why don't _you_ try it?"

Kratos made the whole "I'm-seriously-thinking-about-killing-you-for-being-an-annoying-brat" face. His victim, a certain dual swordsman in red didn't flinch at this expression, staring defiantly at the older man. "Lloyd, if you do not eat your breakfast-" Kratos' voice rumbled dangerously. My tin fork was wobbling in my hands when he spoke, and I dropped it before it flung out of my hands and stabbed the person sitting across from me (Genis.)

"A deal's a deal." Lloyd crossed his arms, turning his nose away. I looked at Kratos expectantly, waiting for his reaction.

He's not going to take the deal. He'd rather let Lloyd starve and then gloat after Lloyd admits he screwed up. Just wait, Kratos is going to walk-

Kratos slammed his fist against the table, er, rock, causing it to practically SINK a few inches into the soggy grass. Eyes snapping, the mercenary death-glared across the makeshift table, looking angry enough to kill. Lloyd stood up, taken aback at the sudden reaction, hands waving innocently in front of him.

And then Kratos did something I never thought he'd do. Grabbing both Lloyd's plate and a spare fork, he stabbed the utensil into the amorphous glob of burnt porridge, and shoved it in his mouth. He chewed, surprisingly not flinching once, and swallowed the food, unaffected.

"A deal's a deal, then," Kratos responded, pushing the plate in front of Lloyd. Lloyd's fear had been erased, replaced by shock. He looked like Kratos had just told him he enjoys roasting live puppies over a smoldering fire. Kratos next dropped the fork in front of his son, and commanded darkly, "Eat your breakfast, _Irving_."

Kratos turned away from the makeshift table, pacing quietly away from the group. A shocked Lloyd dropped from his feet, eyes glazed over from the same shock he had received ten seconds prior. Genis' mouth had dropped to the point of hitting the group, looking like he might throw up.

Raine stepped into the clearing from the woods, both her and Colette bearing a second burnt dish. Her eyes flashed to Lloyd, to Genis, to me, and back to the almost full serving dish. "…Has anyone eaten yet?"

* * *

"Your arm is finished healing," Raine announced later that morning as she removed the splint. I let out a single sigh of relief, glad to finally be freed of the cast. "Try your best to be careful, though. I don't know how your body would react if you received another fracture."

I bent my arm in the air a few times, letting the wind wave against it. "I will, Professor."

Healing magic here never really ceased to amaze me. A fracture on Earth would've taken eight weeks tops to mend by itself. Here with screwed up magic, my arm had been totally healed in almost… one, two weeks? I had lost count of the days since I came to Sylvarant, truthfully.

Lloyd's eyebrows had furrowed, and he looked like he was thinking extremely hard. He was staring at me, like I had grown a fifth head or something. "Something up?" I asked almost casually.

"What?" Lloyd looked at the sky immediately, and I sighed.

"What's wrong?" I elaborated.

"Oh, well…" Lloyd looked at me for a second, his thinking face coming back into action. "I was looking at your arm, and sorta realized… well, your arm looks a little paler-"

I could feel my eyes widen. "No way!"

Lloyd gave a weak nod, and I brought my arms in front of me. Pushing the forearms next to each other, an audible groan escaped my lips. "A tan line!" I complained, staring at the obvious difference in colors. Tan lines drove me insane. It might have been something to do with a never diagnosed OCD, or it might've been me not liking being two different shades of color. I didn't know! What I did know was that my right arm was noticeably darker than my other arm, and just a bit thinner than the other. "This sucks!" I whined, rubbing my arms against my pant leg.

No one commented on my complaint, for they most had turned around and started walking. Sure guys. Make me feel reeeeeally important here. I slung my bag over my shoulder and started jogging after them.

And we walked. And walked. And walked. Have I made my point? We walked more. Lloyd stopped to piss behind a tree. And then we walked.

"Shouldn't we go a bit faster?" Lloyd asked some time later, stopping in his tracks for the billionth time that day. Who was the genius that put Lloyd as leader? He didn't have a freaking map, and _he_ was leading??

"If we move abruptly, we'll disturb the natural environment, and attract unwanted attention. Reducing our speed also reduces the enemy encounter rate."

"But then we walk longer!" Lloyd countered.

"He's got a point," I added. Upon receiving a Kratos-death-glare, and I raised my hands in defense. "Alright, lets speak about this logically. If we were to continue at this speed, about how many enemies would we run into total before we reach Hima?"

"….At least thirty."

I nodded. "What if we walked at the speed we usually do?"

"…Between twenty-one and twenty-seven."

I snapped. "You see! We _should_-"

"If we were to travel at the speed we have for the majority of this trip, we would leave the entire party fatigued during the battles. It would be prudent to conserve energy, for the events in which we do run into enemies. Besides-" Kratos paused, and I noticed his hand rest on his sword's hilt. "The extra battles will offer more experience. It will be needed, seeing as how training has been postponed."

"Some training. In that sense, we'll be prepared for the enemy," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. "Aren't you the one that is always about preparing for the unexpected, enemy shall have no mercy-"

Crap, everything after that happened so fast, I didn't see any of it. All I really could do was draw a theory from the result. Kratos' sword was pointing at the floor, I was on the ground, Lloyd's hand was gripped on the back of my shirt… Judging from the hiss of metal, I was guessing Kratos tried to slice me, and Lloyd pulled me away before I had quite literally "lost my stomach."

"Perhaps I'll have to contribute, then." Pointing his sword at my side, he drew back his blade into his sheath, and proceeded to lead. After the moment's silence, a red-gloved hand was at my face, and I used it to pull myself to my feet.

I started walking with my right hand on the hilt of my sword after that

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

I narrowly dodged the projectile shot by the Grasshopper. "Shoot!" I yelled, landing forearms into the dirt. I made a face, rubbing the grains of sand off my reddening arms.

Lloyd's cry filled the air, as he fell back next to me. His swords had stopped in front of the grasshopper, one under its scythe-like arms, and the other stabbed into the ground. The young boy had a thin scratch across his cheek, accompanied by a bruising spot on his forehead. "This isn't good," I whispered to him as he rubbed his bleeding lip.

"Ehh, it could be worst," Lloyd replied, careless tone strained. "I'm going to grab my swords. Can you cover me?"

"No-" Ignoring the beginning of my response, Lloyd stumbled off ahead. "Lloyd!!!"

"Just keep him distracted for me! I'll wrap this up quickly!!!"

I swore that this boy was going to get himself killed – or maybe severely injured. Hands on the hilt of my sword, I let out a breath and prepared carefully.

I stood by Lloyd's flank, in front of the massive grasshopper. What could I say about the grasshopper – it was big, green, and dangerous. On a dangerous scale, I'd say it was a 5.8. Only because Kratos was around.

"Protective Aura!" I yelped, the green sphere of pure mana solidifying around me. The bladed arm halted at immediate contact with my shield, and after struggling against the barrier, it broke through. The mana shattered into large shards, and before the arm met my forehead, I ducked out of the way.

Lloyd dove for his twin swords, shoulders first rolling against the dirt. He picked up his first sword, strewn across the ground, and reached for the second one.

"Lloyd, watch out!"

The Grasshopper dislodged its arm from the dirt, and it was aiming straight for Lloyd's chest. "Demon Fang!" Lloyd yelped, trying to repel the grasshopper. The blade of mana hit directly on the grasshopper's torso, but had no effect on the monster. It continued to swing down its arm, aiming at the red clad swordman.

I shut my eyes for a moment, just before the tip of its arm found itself buried in Lloyd's chest.

Lloyd let out a scream. The noise, tearing from his throat and lungs, was the most terrifying sound I had ever heard. That pain… it was so obvious, so conspicuous…

"_**Lloyd!!!"**_

I finally opened my eyes, right as Lloyd's swords clattered to the dirt. He was looking… _horrible_. In the past few seconds, his eyes had widened, and perspiration had formed over his forehead. His hands were reaching for the bladed arm, until they dropped limply at his side. Lloyd's head began to droop as well, and for a few moments, he looked like he might be feigning in and out of consciousness.

A streak of purple, Kratos, flew its way between the Grasshopper and Lloyd. His sword moved swiftly, as a quick flash, slicing through the Grasshopper's arm. He raised his right hand, now crackling with electricity. "Lightning!"

The energy shot from the tips of his fingers, and the magic ripped through the body of the grasshopper. As the Grasshopper fell, Kratos cast his own Guardian spell to prevent the poison from splattering his frame. He continued to glare at the falling carcass, at the _dead_ bug, and his stare wasn't broken until a certain swordsman hit his arm.

Genis panicked. "Lloyd!"

Kratos was slowly helping the boy to the ground when the said half-elf ran to his best friend's side. "Lloyd, come on! Hang in there, Lloyd!"

Lloyd face had been almost drained of all color, with exception to the faint tinge of green layered under his pale skin. Kratos was studying him, not casting any magic of real sorts. It was hard to tell where the blood was – his jacket was so red…

One half gloved hand was held out expectantly in front of me. "Alexa, your dagger."

My da- oh. "O-okay," I said, carefully reaching for my dagger with my left hand. After unsheathing the dangerous weapon, I handed it, by the hilt, to Kratos.

Kratos took the blade in his hand, and after seizing a firm grip, he turned to teenager breathing heavily in front of him. He began cutting away, piece by piece, at the weapon lodged part way through Lloyd's chest, his face expressionless.

Raine slid to the ground in mere seconds, before she started removing supplies from her bag and reached for the Grasshopper's arm. "Do not remove it," Kratos warned.

Raine's eyes flashed. "If we do not remove this, it will become infected and never heal. I must treat the wound immediately-"

"If you try to heal the wound your artes, being unpredictable as they are, may cause the poison to spread further into his body."

Raine shook her head in disagreement. "Leaving him th-"

"Give him a Panacea Bottle."

I saw from the corner of my eye Colette and Genis exchange a nervous glance. Finally, Colete stood forward. "Um, Mr. Kratos? We ran out of Panacea bottles today…"

For a moment, I saw a glimpse of emotion pass Kratos' face. But it was so brief, so subtle, I almost didn't notice it. It was the faint signs of worry. His eyes had softened, as his eyebrows furrowed. But as soon as it was there, it was gone.

"Can't we just treat him in Hima?" Genis questioned, filling in the blank.

"Hima is at least a day's walk away," Raine mused. "He may not make it." Coughs tore from Lloyd's chest – man, how bad was this poison anyway? I finally looked away from Lloyd, unable to watch his pain anymore. The hesitation in Raine's voice was clear. "Does anyone know how to call Noishe?"

"Noishe?" Genis repeated. "Noishe is usually just… there whenever Lloyd needs him."

"We could try whistling," I suggested lightly, staring at the grass. "I mean, he is a dog, and I read that they have really good hearing…"

Kratos did the half nod thing, and rose a hand to his lips. He pinched his index finger and thumb together, and blew lightly into the space in between them. There was an incredibly high-pitched… noise coming from the purple mercenary, ringing through the forest.

There was one bark, coming from the West. I turned left, freezing before making the full turn. Raine had been staring at me…

Noishe halted in the front of the group. Spotting his injured owner, he bowed his head over Lloyd, sniffing him. "So, we're having Noishe take Lloyd?"

"Yes," Raine replied. "_You_ and Noishe are taking Lloyd to Hima."

I blinked. "Come again?"

Kratos had the glare-of-DOOM aimed straight at Raine right now, looking very close to Judgment-pissed-off. "We can't send Lloyd on his own," Raine elaborated. "Colette is the Chosen, Kratos has to protect the Chosen, Genis would be too busy casting spells to fight off enemies, and I…" Raine's eyes cast themselves to the ground, her expression saddened. "I do not have any substantial methods of offense."

I blinked _again_. "You can't send me!" I objected. "I'm... I… I can't use a sword! Ask Kratos!" I pointed at the said mercenary, who was taking this opportunity to roll his eyes. "He'll agree that I suck at using a sword!"

"You're stronger than you think," Raine argued. Kratos had resumed to his death-glare, aiming it exactly at the one he didn't trust the most in the group. Lloyd coughed again, his breathing labored. "The poison was strong… You must leave now!"

"Wait-"

Kratos had hoisted Lloyd from the ground onto Noishe's back, leaning him against the animal's neck. "Hurry up," Kratos growled, agitated. Not wanting to piss the man off anymore, I stumbled to Noishe's side. Noishe bent his legs, letting the short person hop on.

Carrying two swords, Kratos walked to the other side of Noishe quietly. He inserted the first sword into Lloyd's right sheath, the blade clicking against the material. He began placing the next sword in its sheath.

"Listen to me carefully," Kratos growled darkly, his voice quiet. Something had nudged against my left leg – I looked down nervously. "You are not to hurt him, to touch one hair on his head. Anything – a small scratch he might have on his arm, a slight bruise on his side - I swear by the Goddess…" The pressure against my leg increased, the side of the dagger pushing deeper into my skin.

"Okay!" I peeped, sweat dropping down my forehead. "I swear on my life I won't hurt Lloyd!"

The dagger was removed, hilt being offered to my hand. "You better keep to that promise, or I _will_ hunt you down until you fulfill the last end."

I took the dagger hesitantly, clicking it back in the sheath. Lloyd made a noise from the front, and Kratos said, "Keep the blade from stabbing deeper into his chest."

"Why not remove the damn thing?"

"It acts as a lid," Kratos explained, raising his voice finally. Shit, he made me jump for a minute. "It is keeping his blood from spilling out. As soon as you remove the blade, however, it will bleed much."

I nodded weakly, the images of blood pouring into my mind. "Remember…" Kratos growled again, and I shivered.

"Hima is Northeast from here," Raine explained, pointing off in one direction. "Keep riding until you reach a mountain, a cliff of sorts. There will be a path leading to a small settlement – find someone there." She shoved hastily into my hands a small pouch. "Here's some Gald…"

"Be wary on your travels. These lands are still thick with enemies, and if you run into one…" I exchanged for at once the first civil look given by Kratos the entire day, and nodded.

Lloyd coughed once more. "Hurry!"

"Noishe, don't stop for anything!" I said. I gave Noishe one nudge in the side, and the protozoan launched itself into the path, towards the thick woods of the Asgardian continent.

What I would give for a Holy Bottle right now…


	13. Interficere

**Long time no see, right? I said I'd get a chapter in before the end of the week. :D  
**

**Believe it or not, I am a happy authoress right now. Last chapter, I got three reviews, and believe it or not, that made me happy! Along with that, at this point, Raconteur's Ripple has a bit over 2.5k hits, 9 favs, and 10 alerts. I dunno how good (or bad) that is, but I feel pretty good about that. So, this is my call out to any of my readers, truthfully: thank you, to ever single one of you, who have read, reviewed, faved, or even alerted!**

**To reviewers, thank you guys especially for the feedback as well. It is well appreciated to have a notice for the times I screw up (ha, I've lost count...) and the times when I don't screw up as much. Once again, thanks guys!**

**So here's Chapter 13, the unlucky thirteen. And this chapter was giving me a PAIN when it came to formatting. To sum it up, the formatting was screwy on the Word Doc and the whole chapter was being annoying (gahhh....) So after a bunch of reuploads, I FINALLY got it working. The chapter, well, it took mostly one sitting to type, surprisingly. And it's very angst. Beware. Here, you will find a very wimpy Alex, a very sick Lloyd, and a not mentioned a lot Noishe. Along with that, I sorta tied in the most annoying chapter there is for all self-inserts, so once again, beware. Gah, I really hoped I added in enough detail. To anyone who even read this far into the Author's Note, congratulations! You get a cookie! Put a claim for it, and you shall receive a virtual cookie from FnR! :) Anyway... Here's the chapter!**

**To anyone who cares, the chapter title is in Latin. It wasn't something typed into a cheap translator either - it came from someone who knows a bit of Latin. So... I got nothing else to say.**

**EDIT: Yes, I went back and added a bit, trying to get the chapter a bit more together. I mean, I'm probably going to jump back in another few hours to revises parts AGAIN, just for my own obsessiveness's sake.  
**

**~Fukachi no Rin**

**Disclaimer: FnR holds no property to the game Tales of Symphonia. Had I any property to Tales of Symphonia, Namco would be in the process of creating a game taking 4000 years previous to Tales of Symphonia concerning our favorite spandex wearing ****mercenary.  
**

I am currently holding onto Noishe's fur for all that I am worth with one hand, and trying to keep Lloyd from falling off with the other.

Noishe was going _really_ fast, faster than that time we snuck away from the Renegade Base. In fact, I was wondering why he hadn't slowed down with the extra weight. I would've asked him myself, hadn't there been that lack of communication with between human and protozoan. For now, I was going to assume the highly intelligent creature had figured out something was wrong with his owner and decided that it would be in his best interest to help him.

I looked at Noishe's owner, trying to overhear his breathing over the wind rushing past us. "Hey Lloyd, hang in there, okay?" I said, raising my head to ahead. Lloyd didn't stir, didn't move. He was as motionless as he had been a few seconds before. "We'll get to Hima soon, I promise. I'll get you a Panacea bottle, and get you to a Inn room to rest. You just need to wait, okay?"

Lloyd groaned quietly, throat still slightly strained. Dang, he didn't sound good. Could people die of poisoning in Sylvarant? I really hoped not. Besides, Lloyd _had_ to live through worst. He couldn't die here. Not with the hard path in the way…

Noishe came to a halt in the center of the path, and bowed his head to growl. I nearly was flung off Noishe's back when he did this, and had it not been for my grip on his fur, I would've earned the new title _"**Peter Pan**." _Except I was a girl. And I didn't have red hair. And I wasn't in green tights... But I had the green shirt! Grass rustled, and trees swayed in the gentle breeze. Even the twigs snapped, and I could feel the anxiety overwhelming me. "Oh no, please don't stop, Noishe," I begged, prodding the animal with my knee. "I'm _screwed_ if we run into a monster… Come on, Noishe…"

Noishe leaned his body down, until my toes touched the ground. He gave me a few whines, before I finally threw myself off his side, brushing the fur off my pants. I looked ahead, spotting the group of… enemies emerging out the woods, onto the center of the path. Noishe could've outran them, if he had kept going as fast as he had. But he had stopped, for no real apparent reasons. The protozoan had stopped for human enemies, not for normal monsters. I gulped uneasily, swearing I had the worst luck in the word.

Standing here in front of me were _Desians_. I hadn't seen any since I first came to Sylvarant, with the exception to the unconscious ones Lloyd and Genis had fought off in Triet. Here stood the antagonistic group, run behind the very Cruxis we _worshiped_ at this point of the game. There were two of them, one being a female with the long spear, and another being a mage. They both were adorned in their luxurious blue fabric uniforms, accompanied by the leather shelling and armoring. I pressed my back against Lloyd's hand, doing the best I could to hide his Exsphere.

"You there! Inferior being! State your name and business!"

Oh yes, they were definitely Desians. Renegades were ten times more polite. Plus, I think Yuan didn't make the females of the organization where that stripper like outfit. Now, it was _nothing_ compared to Pronyma's, but give me a break. I didn't like it and thought it would be far past impractical to wear.

The female of the two spoke next, growing impatient. "Answers when you are spoken to, you scum!"

"A-Alexa!" I yelped, hitting Noishe nervously. "Alexa – er, Kira!" Sure, I pulled a random word out of nowhere, but giving Desians my _alias_ probably wouldn't be the smartest thing in the world. "I'm a… traveling mercenary!" I tried, pulling the oldest one in the book. "I'm escorting my client to Hima, but, uh, he fell asleep on the way so…" I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

The two Desians exchanged glances, and the girl one – I needed another name, um, warrior – pointed her spear in my directions. Oh bloody hell, she was _staring_ at me. Intrigued, almost, and at the same time, a bit _annoyed_. I didn't like Desians, and if I did, I'd be more insane than I am right now. "You should be honored, inferior being," she announced, taking a few steps forward. "You may be a possible candidate, _little girl_, to Lord Kvar's Angelus Project.."

"A candidate?" I repeated, eyes wide. She nodded one, and I stepped back in terror. Kvar. Murderer of Lloyd's mother. Man of all Kratos' hatred. We were on his turf right now, on the Hard Path. How these easily these things seemed to slip past my memory was becoming more than a nuisance –

_Lightning!_

The attack struck from the sky, from the once cloudless day. It was strong, powerful, chockfull of mana. Before I knew what hit me, there was an explosion of pain, stemming from my shoulder down to my toes. I suppose electricity did that to you – struck you at one place, and traveled through your body until it hit the ground. My joints felt stiff as I reached for the place of the new pain, my right shoulder. Getting electrocuted was a new feeling altogether. Even if it was magic, it was still electricity. And it hurt like a…

The warrior Desian stabbed for my side, and I cried out, "Protective Aura!"

The green barrier came out, blocking the attack of the Desian's spear. I was glad Kratos managed to tag the name to that attack, and I probably would have to thank him for it. Y'know, maybe next time I saw him and he DIDN'T threaten to kill me.

I felt like I was in a waltz for a few minutes. One, two, STAB, one two, STAB… Eh, point proven. At least I wasn't GETTING stabbed. Dodging… Yeah, thanks to an Exsphere, I had a decent amount of skills in that category. Of course, this is assuming that I wasn't fighting an opponent who could sped cast or attack at the sped of light (cough, Kratos, cough.)

The Desian flipped their spear, the pointed end behind her. She was swinging it down _really hard_, aiming for my head. She was trying to knock me out, not injure me horribly – Kvar would be a little pissed if he got a 'candidate' for the Angelus Project that wasn't in well shape.

"_Sir, we have brought here a possible candidate for the Angelus Project."_

"_Excellent, I'll see that – why that hell does she have a sword in her?"_

No thanks, I'd prefer my "I'm getting the hell out of here" scenario.

The Desian took another jab to her opponent, and I narrowly dodged another hit to the head. Oh yes, that would hurt like a bitch when she finally did manage to hit me. _If,_ I mean, _if_. Damn it, Alex, stop being a pessimist. Kratos is your teacher. An asshole, but still your teacher. Which is like taking the hard path enemies and multiplying their danger level by one-hundred-twenty… seven. You're trained enough to dodge anything they throw -

"Fireball!"

I knew had I forgotten about something.

I managed to yelp out "Protective Aura" in time. But alas, the bitch trying to _knock me out_ hit the shield, shattered it, and a burned Alexa ended the conclusion! Not very burned, just around the left forearm. Damn that forearm, it was a magnet for issues! _Calm down, Alex, you'll make it through… I really gotta stop talking to myself…_

I started swinging my arm wildly. More like flailing. It did scare her off for a few minutes, but her expression – screw the expression, I couldn't see her face underneath the helmet. The _frown_, however, signified that she was confused as hell, at my attempts of attack. I was trying to use a sword, duh! Hardly could use one, even with five hours of freaking training every day, but I still wa-

Oh crap. I had forgotten to take out my sword.

"Um, jay kay, anyone?" Yes, I seriously said this out loud. Damn, I really needed to stop watching those stupid unlimited texting commercials back at earth, before I started replying back at Kratos, "Idk, my bff Jill?"

…You know, I think I would now say that to his face just for sake of reaction.

Back to the battle! I pulled out my sword from the sheath, working my ass off just to get the damn thing out without slicing the damn person in half. I wanted a clean battle. No cuts or slices, just a firm hit to the head and she'll be knocked out. Crap, would I even be _able_ to hit her. I know my life depended on it (in two ways, not in one), but even with that extreme pressure, I'd probably crack. Well, pressure _does_ make it about fifty times worst, so it wasn't the most pleasant contribution to the fire…

Cascada's _Miracle_ started blaring in my head.

"Woman, I am not _that_ FUCKING desperate!" I shouted out loud, freaking out my opponent. I tried to hit her head, but alas, failed.

"_Sorry, it just seemed appropriate."_ The music was cut off immediately. I swore I was going to kill that Muse the minute I found her. _"Focus on the battle – you're getting your butt kicked."_

I jumped out of the way again, this time getting a fair scratch on my pant leg. It didn't etch into the skin – it was more of a tug on the fabric, for my pants were too baggy. Just a little. A little a lot.

I scowled for a third time, pulling my way out of the spear's direction. "Have you finished casting the spell?" she yelled behind her. It hit me then. How long had it been since I last was attacked by the mage? Hell – how long had I had left him to dawdle in his artes?

Screw the first one – I moved away from her, running to the second Desian. The mage was in the middle of casting a spell of some sort, a mysterious rune underneath his feet. I had truthfully never seen once in my entire life in Sylvarant or on Earth - it was sorta purple-gray… Something like that. I braced myself for the attack, already reaching for the mana inside of me when he finished. He lifted his staff, chanting a final phrase of some sort, and suddenly a bunch of clouds came from his staff. They were surrounding both me and him, and the darkness was undeniable. I couldn't see anything except the smoke.

The fear of the dark. I remembered my actual teacher lecturing me about this in literature. Man had a natural fear of the dark. An undeniable fear of total abyss, in situations where they were helpless, at the mercy to nature. It was that feeling, that anything could happen, that you could be mysteriously jumped at a moment, or saved from that complete hell…. It was that feeling that could leave someone so weak in the utter darkness.

Something slammed into my back from behind, hard, circular. The mage's staff, perhaps? I let out a grunt, trying to regain my footing. I was hit again, this time straight in the stomach, and all air was knocked out of me. I pushed the sword in front of me, gripping it so tightly, I thought my fists would suddenly burst from the tension. There was nothing, no sound, no light. Only darkness.

I was senseless.

Something – _someone_ – grabbed my shoulder, and I felt my breath catch. They were holding my shoulder under a death grip, as if I would slip away at any second. I couldn't find it to turn. I was paralyzed. I was fucking _freaked out_.

_Move!_

Had I ever been in a situation like this? My body was irresponsive to my thoughts, completely cut off. Of course, my arms were shaking furiously, and my hands were still stuck on my sword. I hadn't paused from that position. But the rest – they were not listening.

"You may have managed to avoid us for this long," the man said from behind me, his voice dark. "But you cannot avoid true fear – the fear of the dark. Intriguing, isn't it, how easily affected the mind can be by one simple concept."

I shivered mentally at the darkness in his voice. "Lord Kvar… The first thing he does when training the new recruits is lock them in an underground chamber, deprived of any sunlight. Then he leaves them there, for weeks, months even. Most survive by the end, and emerge a changed being, superior to their fears. But some, they go mad. And one by one…" The man's grip tightened – if that was even possible – on my shoulder. "He kills them off."

My stomach literally sank, and I could feel my mind pulling a blank. It was horrible, and I could feel myself pulling deeper and deeper into the darkness. The clouds were gathering, streaming towards my face. They lengthened, pushing themselves closer and closer into my face. And suddenly, they were around me.

It was horrible. Almost as if I were surrounded by a bunch of strangers. Now, I wasn't xenophobic! I couldn't stand the feeling, though, of being surrounded by strangers, who's malicious or altruistic intentions couldn't be sensed. It was the same darkness… not knowing…

A woman's screech, clear and distinct, filled the air, striking me to the bone. Was this going to be my scream? If I were to scream right here, would anyone hear?

"Alexa!"

My name? Someone called my name? I struggled to hear this new sound, this voice...

"Alexa!"

"L-Lloyd?"

How was this possible? Lloyd, he was… Unconscious! Poisoned! He couldn't be moving… It would hurt him too much to move, to speak… He was too weak!

"Alexa… Don't give up… I know you're in there…" His voice sounded strained, and yet… Strong. Powerful. He was fighting, fighting… For me? "You… can… win… this…"

"Lloyd!" I screamed. I spun around.

"_**Damn it!"**_

There was another cry, gurgling, noises coming from behind me… No, red… Crimson all over my arms, my feet… Oh shit, the _stench_. The clouds, the darkness was clearing, and inside, I was begging for it to come back.

The Desian mage, his face had been drained of all blood, and his breathing had become labored. He clenched his jaw momentarily, grabbing the front of the sword. It was really deep in there… I had run him through very much. I could see the blood already staining his blue tunic, and blood dripping slowly onto the ground… He coughed, and blood splattered on my shirt, on my cheeks… Shoot, so much blood…

He sunk to the ground, falling apart. Gasping for air, the man laid there, drenched in the puddle he had created by his own blood. My hand had lost its grip on my sword, and it stayed there… lodged inside him.

"Oh… God…" I gasped, hands shaking. Tears… They were running down my eyes… I raised my hands to wipe it away, but stopped, before smearing the blood all over my face. My knees hit the path, and dirt collected in small clouds. "N-no…"

This wasn't suppose to happen. No one was suppose to die. I was suppose to knock them out, render them unconscious, then escape on my merry way. Damn it, why didn't I keep my sword in my sheath. Damn it, why, why, why, why..?!

The man chocked on his last breath, and he was gone.

I ran my hands through my hair, staring at the corpse laying motionless on the center of the road. Dead. The man was dead, gone, soul gone to wherever they went in Sylvarant. Nothing could change that. He was dead, and it was my fault. _I had killed him_. He didn't – shit, he wasn't even going to kill me! If I hadn't done anything, I would've just been put in some damn experiment, lived. My life wasn't in danger or anything, but I…. _Damn it…_

"A-Alexa?"

My hands tore themselves out of my hair, and blurry-eyed, I turned around. "L-Lloyd?" I rasped, voice hoarse, unrecognizable.

"You… You're okay…" He let out a breath, and I heard it. His swords, they clattered onto the ground one by one, followed by a dull thump.

"L-Lloyd!"

I ran to his side, skidding onto my knees. The previous Desian – the woman, she was on the ground, bleeding everywhere. One of Lloyd's swords, laying on the ground, had blood streaming off of it, and on the woman's uniform was a clear tear, the source of all the blood. Lloyd had collapsed on the center of the dirt path, eyes closed, face in the dirt. I pushed his side, rolling him onto his back. Lloyd wasn't looking good, no, he wasn't. He had turned a slight different shade of green, more prominent, and was beginning to struggle with breathing again.

"Lloyd… please, be okay… Lloyd, oh goodness…" I could feel the tears streaming. "Lloyd, don't die… Come on, Lloyd, stay with me… You can't die… Damn it, what am I suppose to say to Kratos if you fucking die…"

"H-hey…" Lloyd opened one eye partly, his gaze glassy. He wasn't looking good, not at all. He looked at the sky, and his stare broke. He looked to the side, and gave me one weak grin.

"Dork."

I sighed in relief, wiping the corner of my eyes with the back of my palm. "You idiot…" I replied back, looking him in the eye. "How the hell am I suppose to get you back on Noishe…?"

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

Getting Lloyd back on Noishe was very difficult. After Noishe… sat on the ground, I managed to partly drag Lloyd onto his back, propping him up on Noishe's neck before getting on myself. I didn't dispose of the Desian corpses… I didn't have the time. I wish I could've at least set them on fire, or something, just so the carcasses wouldn't be devoured by some stray animal. But I didn't have any magic or brush. I left them there to rot, like the worthless scum I was.

I took a breath, exhaled, controlling my breathing problems. I was grabbing onto the fabric of my pants tightly, watching… waiting for Lloyd to awaken. As soon as I got to the Inn, I had begged for a room and a Healer. I knew I looked insane, a blood splattered teenager begging for assistance. But I didn't care. They had gotten him to a room, after the Innkeeper had carried the injured teenager into his room, and brought in a doctor moments later.

The doctor was a traveling doctor, who had a few antidotes on hand. He said that the poison Lloyd received was strong, and would take some of his best medications to cure. He then demanded I fork over 500 Gald for his payment, and I grudgingly agreed. The sack of Gald didn't have a lot, but it did have enough…

Lloyd was cured, and resting in his nice little room in the Hima Inn. Hima Inn was very much different than the game. Instead of the small three-roomed building, it had a full hallway extending with three or four so rooms rather than one. We were in the middle room, and Lloyd was laying on the bed, skin having some color flush back in. He was alive, thank goodness.

"Miss?"

I turned around, stopping my hand from grabbing the hilt of my sword. I was so tense right now, it didn't make sense. It was as if I would be attacked at any moment, and I was reacting to that feeling. This must've been how it was like for Kratos…

The woman – a woman with red hair and in an orange dress – looked at me carefully. "We have a room, vacant, if you wish to purchase the rent for a night. It won't be a huge addition onto your fee, and I do not believe we'll be receiving anymore guests this evening…"

I nodded weakly. "I'll put my stuff in it later…"

"He'll heal," she informed me, and I looked back up. "He's strong, that boy. Took in the antidote and is healing at an alarming rate. I'll send someone to watch him – you, on the other hand, should get some rest."

"…I-I will," I responded, forcing a smile. "I just need to-"

I stood up and grabbed the head of the chair before I fell down. I was already dizzy, my mind was foggy… Shit, was I really in this bad condition? Just because I killed someone? Screw the just, I had killed someone. Will someone in this distorted world help me live through that fucking-

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I responded lightly. "Just a headache."

"I can arrange for a washtub to be brought to your room. For that and your clothing to be washed. Is that alright with you?"

She was too polite for my own good… "Yes, it is."

She nodded. "I'll inform the Innkeeper."

She turned around, exiting through the door, before I finally heard her step off. I let out a breath, gripping onto the end of the chair. Maybe I did need some rest. A bath. How long had it been since I had one of those? I tried to force myself to smile, but held no avail. Sighing, I turned my head looking at Lloyd. He was looking healthier in the least, thank goodness. I listened carefully, to his steady breathing, the noise ringing in my ears. Thank goodness, it was there, it was there…

As soon as I turned the doorknob, I heard a chorus of voices.

"There's another one – he's not looking good as well."

The Innkeeper… "Someone inform the medic he has another customer!"

"He left just a quarter of an hour ago!"

I heard the Innkeeper swear. "Bring him to a room. Sophia, you used to study medicine?"

"Only a little-"

"Check on the man's condition."

There was a series of footsteps, doors swinging open, people muttering. I stepped out of the room warily, catching the sight of a young brunette male being carried on a cloth stretcher into the first inn room. He was looking worst than Lloyd had earlier, not responding, not stirring.

Someone's running – their footsteps clattered on the ramp. Damn, I had heard those footsteps before. A few days ago, even if they were slower, I still recognized them. They had the same rhythm, the same motion. It was undeniable who it was. They ran to the top, whirling around the corner, following the group of people. The door was open, abstracting the view of the newcomer, but that was short lived. As soon as the two men carried the third into the room, it shut close behind, and the newcomer gasped at once.

Sheena Fujibayashi paused, bringing her hand to her heart.

"Y-you!"


	14. A Friendly Offer

**Fukachi no Rin is a happy authoress today! Well, I have been one for the past two weeks, just have been too darn busy to update. Thank you for the five reviews for the last chapter (six in total since the last update) to everyone! I'm going to be giving specific review responses in a second...**

**Chapter 14 was fun to write. Only because I was debating about what to do. To anyone who thought that Alexa was over her killing issues, guess again! No appearance of the Chosen group in this chapter folks, sorry. That'll be coming next update, probably, along with a few more... surprises. :D**

**flood125: Happy (very late) Easter to you! The killing another human being is something I honestly think should always be looked at, mostly because in reality, not everyone can kill another person. And then if they do, it usually takes years of therapy or in a mental institute to stabilize the person. Alexa has no access to either, unfortunately, and she's going to have to deal with it by... Haha, I won't spoil. Also, I've never played Tales of Vespeira, so I honestly do not know what Rita's power is... ^_^**

**ShadowVDP: Appreciate the feedback, friend! I really needed that advice, seriously. Thanks for the suggestions; I'll be keeping mind to them for a while! Thanks for reviewing!**

**whatsername427: Thank you for reviewing too! Alexa handles it well... for now. Hehehe... Sheena has appeared (confetti flies), but in an odd sort of way. Sheena is amazing, but she's still an enemy... -.- Oh well.**

**Jeanesis: I don't know how I managed to miss that last grammar mistake. My English teacher would kill me if she saw that right now... She'd also probably kill me if she found out I doodle through out most of her class, but she doesn't have to know that! Thanks for the review! And I like keeping them suspicious. Or else this would be a very boring fanfiction to read and write...**

**BlackRose-FlowerofDeath: Thanks for reviewing too! And I can hardly wait to see how this plays out. It's fun to write - especially when you have those scenes planned out that you honestly can't just wait to write. I've got a few of those, some coming next chapter. ;)**

**Once again, thank you to everyone who reviewed! I hope this chapter lives up to your standards!**

**~Fukachi no Rin**

I should've never agreed to the terms of this last agreement. Never, ever, _ever_ should have left the party to treat Lloyd. Should had Kratos bring him, or maybe Genis… Raine? Colette? One of the any above; _most_ of them would probably last longer against Sheena than myself (Colette would first attempt making peace treaties, Genis would be knocked off his feet before he even got a chance to finish a spell….)

Sheena narrowed her eyes into the full-fledged glare, reaching behind her with her right arm. She drew out a handful of spell cards, fanning them out in front of her chin, before she pointed each at me. "I won't let my guard down this time," she warned darkly, a glint of anger passing through her eyes.

…Yeah, I was totally screwed.

I reached for my side, for the sword still strapped to my belt. Bruises from the earlier battle caused me to flinch, and sent dull pains through my body.

I assumed Sheena took note of this, for she paused for a minute, and her eyes suddenly softened. "You're… hurt?"

I didn't answer for a moment, for I was trying to comprehend her words. Sheena, ninja-assassin, sent by Tethe'alla to assassinate the Chosen of Mana, was wondering if one of the Chosen's _companions_ was hurt? Well, for a first time players perspective, this probably wouldn't make any sense, but from a full player… Well, we would remember Sheena had a fairly large heart, right?

"Um… yeah," I replied soundly, trying to keep my cool. "Kinda got mobbed by a group of Desians – you know, those assholes who wreak terror on this world until the Chosen of Mana sacrifices herself." Images of the dead began shooting, replaying through my head. _The sword, plunged into their body, the blood splattered everywhere, the last gasp of the slaughtered man…_ I dug my nails deep into my palm, trying to get a grip on the reality.

"You were attacked by Desians?" Sheena repeated, her voice confused.

"Y-yeah…" I continued, eyebrows scrunching. "Lloyd, he got one of them, and I k…kil-" I found my tongue having issues forming the last word, my entire _being_ having trouble accepting that fact. The images were coming back, running through my dim mind.

"So you killed a man," Sheena observed. "And from the sounds of it, it was your first."

_The man hit the ground, loosing their last breath. There was lots of blood everywhere… Running down the corners of his mouth, leaking onto the grass, soaking the front of his uniform, even dripping down the silver edge of the blade. It wouldn't…. no, it wasn't ending. It was a river, and the man's jaw remained half opened in awe, as if frozen by this overwhelming occurrence._

I grabbed onto the wall of the inn, about to fall over my feet. My lungs were beginning to tighten in my chest, and a dull throb was coming from my head. The inn floor, the planks of closely fitted wood, begun to blur and tremble underneath my vision. My eyes blinked a few times, trying to stabilize my sight. Finally, I took in a breath, my stomach sinking lower, before I looked up.

Sheena was just… staring at me. Her cards were no longer drawn up; she had lowered her arm. Her mouth was turned into the slightest of frowns, and her eyebrows had woven into the center of her face. I met her gaze for the briefest of moments, trying to look for some sign of her true emotion. The ninja assassin turned her torso, looking away.

"My orders were to kill the Chosen specifically, not all those who assist her. If I did, I'd have entire cities to assassinate, seeing as how blindly the people follow their religion here. I'm not a butcher; I have honor. Besides…" Sheena inched her head partly around, one of her eyes barely visible. "You were the weakest of those who traveled with the Chosen. I will not slaughter you, especially in the state you are in right now. Next time, however-" Sheena flicked her wrist, her cards forming one stack. "I won't hold back."

Sheena turned on her heel, marching fluidly into the first room. She didn't look past the entrance, as she stepped in and clicked the door shut behind her. I took a deep breath, straightening out my abdomen before trying to regain full capacity of my lungs. There was a thin layer of sweat over my face and neck, building up on my arms as well.

"Miss?"

I spun around, facing the woman standing outside the third door. "Your bath is prepared, Miss. But the night is cold, and it might be a good idea to wash before the water cools."

"Oh. Th-thanks," I stuttered. The woman smiled back, clasping her hands in front of her and bowing the slightest. I rushed past the woman, trying not to stumble as I clicked the inn room silently behind me.

* * *

It was very dark.

The entire surroundings, everything, was almost hopeless. The skies had been blotted by the endless blanket of clouds, deepening the depth of the atmosphere. Anything left uncovered by the blackest clouds was not a clear blue, but rather a blood red. Back to my original statement, it was very dark.

I blinked once, adjusting carefully to my surroundings. I was on a hill of some sort, barren of any verdant foliage that usually would accompany it. Everything, in actuality, was barren here – the ground, the sky, the air, just… everything… I took a deep breath, shifting my weight onto my other feet.

So I had come to the conclusion I was somewhere. Wohoo. Watch me do the Riverdance in such a triumphant discovery... I kicked my feet off from the ground. Mind, body, and all, I was here. At the same time, I found myself doubting that fact. The last thing I had remembered was sitting in the piping hot waters of a washtub in the Hima Inn, trying to wash the layer of grime out of my hair. Now I'm here.

Either I had a real bad case amnesia, or I was delusional.

The sounds of sobs filled the air, carrying over the wind. I squinted against the dead leaves being thrown into the air, shielding my eyes with my forearm. The gale was suddenly becoming brutal – my hair was being thrown back from its force. The crying continued to carry on, and my legs started carrying myself up the hill.

At the top, a large gnarled tree stood, hanging over the ledge. There was a blur of gray, as well as a figure dressed all in black. She was the one crying, I realized, as I came to a stop at the top of the hill.

"Are you okay?" I asked carefully. The woman shook her head, burying her face into the white handkerchief. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

The lady… sneezed into her handkerchief. Her dark hat was hiding most of her face, and a dark net had covered the rest. "He… was my brother," she whimpered, gesturing to the stone. I turned my head, observing the small stone protruding out of the earth.

"A… gravestone?" I whispered, eyes set on the blank face. No name or date was etched into the surface. Only a blank tombstone rested here on the top of the hill. A small bouquet of flowers was laid at its base, the only object accompanying the lonesome marker for a grave. "I'm… sorry…"

The woman let out another cry, and suddenly she was… latched onto my arm. Not so much that; her face was sorta buried in my shoulder, something I was trying to figure out how she had managed with the massive height difference between the two of us. Whatever, no need to be an ass right now.

"He… he only wanted to help us…" she sputtered, her voice muffled. "It… it wasn't his fault… We were like this since birth… and he only wanted to help…" Her whole form was shaking – she sounded very weak, at the same time. "He tried… following them… So that all half-elves… could live a better life…"

The last sentence hit the pit of my stomach, and I stepped away from her quickly. "He was a Desian?" I gasped.

"Didn't you know?" she asked, her voice suddenly taunting. "I assumed you did, since you killed him."

I started backing away immediately. "That's…"

"You killed him," she sang in a deranged tone, sauntering closer to me. I continued to back away. "Poor little Alexa. You're becoming such a dangerous murderer…"

I shook my head, body quivering. "That's…"

"Did you think just because you were here, that death would mean nothing?" Blood was beginning to pour out from underneath her feet, and the only exposed parts of her arms. My spine hit the trunk of the tree, ending my escape path.

Her hand shot forward, grabbing the base of my throat. "Death has meaning here, child," she coaxed, her fingers digging into my skin. Suddenly, her skin was beginning to darken, fall apart. A horrid scent filled my senses, and her body continued to rot away. "Never belittle that fact, my dear." Her nails dug deeper into my neck, and fresh blood flowed from the new punctures.

I shut my eyes as tightly as I could.

And my scream echoed across the dead land.

My eyes shot open, and the first thing that hit me was water. And it wasn't the normal dark-lake-drowning water. It was the soapy kind. I shot out from underneath the surface, taking in deep gasps of fresh air. Air from this reality, from this world. Out of my dream, in Sylvarant.

_It was only a dream_, I felt my mind assuring myself. A very realistic, painful, and scary dream. _Perhaps I shouldn't fall asleep in bathtubs anymore..._ I thought silently, as I rubbed the roots of my hair. My fingers through the tangles of my far from clean hair. It was the closest to clean I would get, I guess. A few weeks in Symphonia, and the bad hygiene was already beginning to affect me.

"Thank goodness you woke up, else you would've been a drowned rat."

A voice. A voice I recognized very well, not echoing through my head but coming from my side. **From my side.** I felt my face turn red, and I craned my neck to my right. "Dude, what the hell are you doing in here!??!!?" I half screamed. "I'm TAKING a BATH!!"

"I noticed," my Muse responded politely, raising one of her blue eyebrows. Green tennis shoes, worn denim jeans, and a black sleeved, white baseball tee, she was dressed the most "Earthly" I had seen her since the day I met her. "Ignore the clothing," she said, reading my expression. "I'm extending my wardrobe, to all styles of the universes. Even if it's this horrid get up such of this…" She made a face, pushing back her blue locks.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" I roared, my hands clenching into the tightest of fists.

"Calm down," she sighed, blinking her eyes shut. "I came here to clean your clothing, and give you a friendly offer."

I snorted. "A friendly offer? Why don't you do me a favor instead and get the hell out of my Inn room before I scream pedophile!"

"Would you like to hear my offer or not?" The annoyed Muse didn't wait for a response. "Good. Hurry up then. I'll be back in ten minutes – I expect you decent by then." She dropped on the ground the folded clean clothes, and in a group of sapphire sparkles, she flew off.

I gritted my teeth together, fists hitting against the washtub. One day, I was going to find out where that mystical figure lived and beat the crap out of her with my petty skills.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

I twisted my hair into the towel, plopping it onto the top of my head. My eyes were still stinging from the soapy water, but I really couldn't find myself to care right now. "What's this friendly offer?" I asked tentatively. Ten minutes later, and I had managed to calm down my rage from earlier.

"I'm here to help you." My Muse – I needed to ask her for her name one day – linked her hands in front of her face, amethyst eyes soft. "I've noticed that your fighting… well, in the least eloquent of terms, your fighting sucks. Sorry," she apologized after noticing my cringe. "I understand that you're new, still trying to learn your swordsmanship style, but if this continues on…" She shook her head. "You're not going to live past this week."

"Thanks," I replied, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "Maybe you should've thought about that before you sent me on the hard path."

"I'm just being honest here," she defended, raising her hands into the air. "For example, if Sheena hadn't been such a softie, you would've been completely and utterly defeated. Fortunately, Sheena has been experiencing conflicts with her own morals, thus why you are still alive and not a corpse lying in the middle of the hallway."

"Thanks for the pleasant imagery," I briefly spoke. "What do you want me to do? Can't you tell I'm trying as hard as I can?"

"I know this, but let me tell you, it isn't enough. Now-" She began pacing slowly across the room. "I have a question for you. Have you noticed anything odd about your fighting skills?"

I swung my legs over the edge of my bed lightly, hands gripping on the red quilt. "Besides the fact they suck?" I inquired.

"There's more than that."

I looked at her, my expression confused. "Well, I don't use a shield or anything. Actually, I haven't been using any armor ever since I came here…"

"Look past the defense, and at the offense."

"Um…" I made a face. "I can't land a solid blow half the time. If it weren't for Kratos' intense training and the Exsphere, I would've been skewered multiple times by various enemies-"

"You're closer," she hinted. "Think more about your style of fighting."

"I use a sword without a hilt," I began guessing. "I only have a single edge blade, I only use one sword, um…"

She sighed. "You're focusing too much on Earthly notions."

"Earthly notions?" I repeated. "What the hell do you me-"

And then it hit me. How long had it been since I had been dumped in Sylvarant? Three, four weeks? I would have to sit down and calculate this, of course. And how long had I not noticed the complete lack of this skill, of any skills… "I don't have any techs," I abbreviated.

"Exactly," my Muse confirmed, nodding her head. "Usually, Exspheres awaken the artes, the dormant abilities laying deep inside of you. Your Exsphere has been doing that this entire time. However, it has been only supplying you with mana, seeing as how your body has a complete lack of the component."

"Thanks for telling me this," I groaned, face palming. "Life sucks…"

"And that's where my offer comes in," my Muse said, her voice light. "I can awaken those abilities for you, those dormant "techs" that you have. The only problem is that there are a few consequences to giving you the artes, all which affect you directly."

"Can't get any worst than how things are right now," I responded, annoyed.

"Actually, yes it can. First of all, awakening your abilities will take away my ability to speak to you telepathically."

If anything, that was a plus. But I wasn't about to tell her that to her face. "Second, I can't predict what abilities you'll get."

"Fun.... Is that it?"

"No, there's a third." She scowled. "Because your body doesn't have a decent supply of mana, any spells you receive are more than likely to consume substantial amounts of mana. Meaning, you can only use them a few times a day. Along with that, well…" Her scowl darkened. "Remember how I mentioned that your Exsphere has been only focusing on filtering mana into your system?"

"You just said something about it five seconds ago – I fail to see how I could forget."

"Well, if you use up all your mana, or huge amounts at a time, you are at high risk of passing out." My eyes widened. "Your Exsphere has been working day and night to keep your body filled with mana. However, if you were to suddenly loose a large proportion of that mana, your Exsphere kicks in. It's almost like loosing oxygen," she elaborated, waving her hands in the air. "When you get either too much or too little, your body shuts you down until your levels are regular. The Exsphere does the same: it knocks you out cold until your body regains all the mana it can hold."

I blinked. "You're kidding me, right?"

"That's how it works," she replied. "That's life. Or your life, anyway." She folded her arms in front of her chest, pacing quietly over and staring out of the window. The sun – almost setting in the distance – was the only thing keeping light in this inn room. "That's my offer."

I stared at her, trying to process every aspect of the information. "But what if I need to talk to you?" I asked. "I mean, if something completely wacko happens, I would like to know that I can somehow get in contact with you-"

My Muse snapped her fingers. "Here's a little something." She reached into her jean pocket (I really missed jeans…) and pulled out a thin cord, with a green gem on it. "I may not be able to speak to you telepathically," she began. "However, if you carry this, I will be able to speak with you through this stone."

She placed it in my hand, and I felt a sudden rush. It was almost like those times Raine used First Aid on me – it was magic pulsing into my veins, through my body. "Kinda like the Gossip Stone from Wind Waker?" I connected it to one of my old games while staring at the green crystal.

"In a way…" she replied. "So, that's it."

"So, you're offering to 'activate' my dormant abilities?" I summed up.

She closed her eyes. "Are there any issues?"

"Well..." I thought about it. "I dunno, it seems a little risky."

She sighed, opening her eyes. There was a new glint of energy in her eyes, some sort of new emotion. "It wasn't really an offer..."

My eyes widened. "Say what now?"

"I meant to propose it as an offer. However, if you did not comply..." She began walking towards me.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Her hand, it was beginning to glow a faint white, mana practically streaming out of it. "I should warn you, after I awaken your mana, you'll be unconscious for a few hours."

"Wait, wha-" Her palm made contact with the top of my forehead. There was another rush, a rush of power, pulsing through my veins. At the same time, there was a dull throb, rising to my forehead. Her palm began to feel very hot, outrageously hot actually. The white light started to fill my vision, everywhere around me.

And I passed out.

**To anyone who is thinking "Oh, Alex is getting skills, she's going to be total kickass now and have no problems whatsoever fighting enemies for now on," think again! :D Next time, on Raconteur's Ripple: Alexa has found herself with new abilities, some that she hadn't expected herself. How will the rest of the Chosen's group react? Will they still trust her? Or will their (namely Kratos's) suspicions grow further? Find out next time, on Raconteur's Ripple!!!**


	15. A Bit of a Dilemma

**Seriously, is it summer yet? I'm being hit by a number of assignments, most that are the evilest projects that ever have been spoken, thus all my reasons for not updating recently. Hey, I'm near exams again! This is somewhat... Ironic. Started on exam time last semester, and I haven't gotten VERY far... -.- Oh well. Here's the next chapter. Getting through some necessary stuff right now... Hey, plot development coming next chapter!**

**ShadowVDP: Sorry for not checking out Outer Heaven. Thanks for reviewing!**

**BlackRose-FlowerofDeath: Hehe, I'm making up the techs. As for what they will cause... I cannot say. ;)**

**Whatsername427: Haha, thanks. I really never can think of Sheena as the bad guy. Never. She's too awesome. The dream was intentionally creepy (don't ask me what I was thinking when I typed it; I don't know myself) and Ms. Muse was due for an appearance anyway. Oh and, Zelda references for the win!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~Fukachi no Rin**

**Disclaimer: Tales of Symphonia is property of Namco, and in no way is under the ownership of Fukachi no Rin.  
**

Ever been knocked unconscious before? Let me just say, it is not a pleasant experience. For one moment, you're aware of everything, mind at peace when- WHAM! Darkness. It leaves your brain befuddled for a good twenty minutes in your little "happy place" (no, I didn't go to my happy place) until you wake up. And waking up, well, isn't the best experience in the world. Especially when you're mind can't tell the difference between black and white.

"…She's been out for a while. Are you sure she's not dead?"

"I don't know… It doesn't look like any fighting took place here."

My eyes twitched as an immediate response. "Oh, she's moving." I cracked my eyes open not even a hair before I shut them. Damn bright light, ruining my awaken. Slowly and steadily, my eyelids lifted, and my pupils flitted each direction to grasp my surroundings.

"Ahhh!"

The next thing that came to my ears was the breaking of glass, and then complete darkness.

No, I didn't fall unconscious _again_. That would've been just a plain crappy day. Instead, well, the entire room had lost any form of light. I shot up, my eyes trying to adjust to this newfound darkness. It was near impossible, to make out a single figure in this environment.

"Oops, sorry," Colette apologized.

"Sis, I can't see!"

Raine's voice followed. "Someone try finding the door. Try not to trip either – there's glass on the floor."

There were a few light steps, followed by a deep thump. Genis cried out, and water hit my arms as the wave of the same liquid splashed over the room. Genis sputtered, muttering angrily to himself. "Does anyone have my staff?" Raine asked us, her voice echoing.

"Oh, here you go, Professor!"

There was a distinct glow in the distance, and Raine held her staff closer to her face. At the end, a small orb of light had gathered, and continued to extend its bright colors. My eyes widened subconsciously, as I stared at the radiating glow. "Magic?" I asked.

"No," Raine answered, the heel of her staff touching the ground. "It's an exercise of the Boltzman Healing Techniques used to gather mana. It just so happens my mana is naturally a light element." She pointed her staff over the room, lightly illuminated what she could. I really should've left the curtains open. But no, I had to – no, I never closed them. I was pretty sure an hour ago, my Muse was staring directly out towards them. I rattled my brain, as Raine stepped cautiously around the room. She stopped when the door flew open, light bursting into the scenery. Shadow looming over the entry of light, Kratos Aurion glared at the rest of us from the doorway. He was carrying a lantern (smart guy), and brought it to the table, placing it on the surface.

"The Innkeeper said he had another room open. We are renting that one, as well as this one and the other for the night," he informed us stately.

Raine tapped her staff once, and her mana faded. "That is good. Did anyone know anything about where the next Seal may lay?"

"The Innkeeper was clueless," Kratos replied. "I haven't received the chance to speak to any others who might have some credible information, but that I could complete within the next few hours."

"That's good," Raine nodded. I leaned my head against the headboard as the two continued to discuss their plans. "This would be so much easier if we had the Book of Regeneration…"

"Indeed. However, this is the path we had to take, in spite of the pernicious situation it is."

Pernicious… That meant dangerous, right? I took a look at Raine, and her reaction told me enough. Colette, noticing this word, connected it quickly to her friend, and took one look at Kratos. "Mr. Kratos?" Colette began earnestly. "How is Lloyd?"

Kratos paused for a moment, meaningful and deliberate. "Lloyd is currently resting," Kratos replied quietly. He was looking at the ground, eyes void of any emotion. I felt my blood run cold. Weeks of experience had taught me an emotionless Kratos was not a good event. Kratos, he ALWAYS was glaring at something, except for Lloyd. What had happened?

"And the poison?" I gulped, hoping my worst fear had not happened. His eyes flashed up, meeting mine for the shortest moment, then focused onto some spot across the room.

"The poison has been cured," he said, and I sighed in relief. A smile washed over both Colette's and Raine's face, at the news of his recovery. "However, he is in no condition to join us for our training tonight."

I looked at Kratos as if he had fifty-three heads. "You're kidding, right?"

"Your training has been neglected for the past few days, as result of our travels. However, we are in an area less prone to be assaulted by monsters, thus our mingling with each other at all times is not necessary."

"Um…" I stared at my hands, twiddling my thumbs. "I haven't really been feeling well lately, and I think resting would be better than-" I looked up for a moment, and shuddered. Kratos death-glare was in action, and I shrunk back into my pillow. "I'll be out there in five minutes?" Kratos nodded, attitude cooled, before he stalked out of the room. Genis burst into laughter, feet stumbling in the washtub.

I promptly grabbed my pillow and chucked it at the small half-elf, who fell back into the tub as a result.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

Kratos didn't wait directly outside. Quite frankly, I had no idea where the purple suited mercenary had retreated. All reason (and no reason) led me to traveling up the steep mountain path, to the peak of the Hima Range.

The wind blew hard, against my entire frame as I tried to trudge up the trail. One arm shielding my eyes, the other holding a death grip on my sword, I was having the most trouble dodging the rocks that tumbled down the dirt path. I took a rest, collapsing against one of the interior walls before hiking up the remainder.

The gale ended as soon as I arrived at the top, and I was met by a beautiful view. The mountains beyond this one lined up further than the eye could see, while the shining sun sent rays against the spanless ocean. There were many forest, their green leaves painting a blur of images across the landscape. All the while, the sun sent hues of orange into the sky.

"Gorgeous," I whispered in awe, breath being taken further away. Where I used to live, I had never seen much of nature in this degree. Only city buildings and houses plagued the area which I took residence – a site such as this was… rare. The Tower of Salvation made its way into my vision, and I could feel my breath halt. Images flashed through my mind: a smirking Remiel, red-eyed Colette, a cold Kratos… I clenched my fists, trying to steady my thoughts.

"You have spotted the smoke?"

I spun on my heels, my soul jumping out of my body and back. To my right, Kratos faced the opposite way. In the distance, a stream of blackened clouds smoothly floated into the sky.

"Um… yeah," I replied hastily, trying to cover up my sudden reaction. "Why is there smoke? Is there a fire?"

"It is a signal."

I gaped. "A signal?"

"It is a network meant to communicate activity of the Desians." Kratos' tone had shifted, harsher on the last phrase. He didn't budge, staring across the land.

"…What are they saying?"

I waited patiently for the answer that seemed like it would never come. His head turned a fraction of an inch after he interpreted the signs. "…Desian activity has increased in the past fortnight. Do not travel alone."

"Oh." I linked my hands nervously in front of me, rocking back and forth on my heels. A chirping bird filled the awkward silence, and I could feel my palms turning clammy from the pressure. "So… where is this signal coming from?"

"Asgard," Kratos replied curtly.

"O-oh," I replied carefully. "…But how? I mean, isn't the Asgard Ranch-" I paused for a moment. Kratos' shoulders had tensed, and his hand was flat over the hilt of his sword. Sucking in a breath, I continued with what I was saying. "-really far from Asgard?"

"It is approximately a two day walk," he informed me, tone sounding darker. "They rally information from Luin, as a means of communication. Every day, Luin burns a fire in the morning, to inform Asgard that they are both still an organized town and… sometimes they pass on information about the Desians."

Processing the information, I made the connection easily to Lord of the Rings. It was amazing, how alike these worlds were on the side of technology, magic, and races… "I believe they had a similar mechanism in Palmacosta, a communication used between them and one of the House of Salvations."

"Oh. Well…" I released my hands, swinging them at my side. "I don't know. I mean, I lived in Palmacosta, but only for about a year. I lived with… my mom for a while. In Triet. Explains the skin color," I laughed, pointing at my darkened skin. More of an olive tone, but it had darkened a bit through all the traveling. I wouldn't be surprised if I had a farmer's tan right now…

Whether Kratos believed me or not, I had no idea. He turned away AFTER I had spoken, face clear of any reaction. His expression was lost, almost… dead, and he reached for his sword.

I stepped back. "What are you-"

"Draw your weapon," Kratos said. "We are training."

"With real swords?" I yelped as he took a step closer. "I'm going to-"

Kratos was in front of me in a flash, sword held cautiously across his face. My eyes widened, arms paralyzed at my side. "Guard," he murmured. I didn't move – I was a complete statue.

Kratos rammed the hilt of his sword into my stomach, sending me flying back several meters. After hitting the ground with a deep thump, rocks dug into my shoulder blades. I groaned, trying to sit my body back up, until a foot landed on my stomach. "Why aren't you fighting?" Kratos asked quietly. It was odd, not hearing him demand an answer as he usually did. His boot crushed deeper into my stomach, and I grabbed it, hopelessly trying to lift it off.

"You never gave me a freaking chance," I said through gritted teeth, my fingernails digging into his leather boot.

"I gave you a noteworthy amount of time to react," Kratos replied simply. He was holding his sword at an angle, down towards the earth, looking very disappointed. "And for some reason, you didn't."

I clenched my fists, hitting them against his shoe. "PROTECTIVE AURA!"

The orb of green mana appeared from nowhere, a rush of energy pulsing through my veins. My body fell deeper into the dirt, and Kratos' foot was being pushed away. I rolled out of the way, jumping to my feet, and yelling, "Protective Aura!" once more.

Kratos' sword hit my shield again, and I stepped back. As my shield broke, he brought his sword down once more.

I launched off my heels, jumping to the side immediately. Landing with one hand on the ground, I sidestepped out of the way, trying to escape from his range. "Protective Aura!"

The shield shattered, and I jumped back. His speed was insane! I wasn't sure – no, he HAD to be going all out. There was no way, no humanly way anyone could be this fast… I turned on my heels and began to run in the other direction.

Kratos appeared in front of me. "You'll have to use more than defense to win," Kratos advised, bringing another swing down. I used my fourth Protective Aura, my head beginning to pound.

Stepping back on one foot, I shifted my weight to my right leg, avoiding the point of the sword. Half of my body was screaming, from the extreme stress being put on its physical and magical limits. With the Exsphere, I was surviving. But with that Exsphere, my body was also being pushed to limits it couldn't keep up with. "If I don't use defense, I'll get hit!" I defended, throwing up another shield.

"You will be hit," Kratos repeated. "Thus why you should block."

I grabbed the sword hilt, fumbling with the sheath once more. "Protective Aura!" I yelped, and my mana was broken once more.

"You are not fighting," Kratos reminded me. "Use your sword!"

"I'm trying!" I screamed back, whipping it out from its sheath. It let out a ring, and I stared at the blade hard. Parts of it were still stained a slight red, and my mind froze. After a glint of silver caught my eye, I brought up another shield.

"Trying is not enough! You _must_ succeed!"

"I can't!" I yelled, jumping out of the way. His arm swept up in a crescent shape, towards my torso. I brought up my sword to block and the light clang of metal rang through the air. Kratos moved for his next attack; my muscles responded, moving to a familiar block. As edge met edge, my arm buckled underneath the power behind Kratos' blade. _He's not using anywhere near his full strength…_ A shift in force took place, and my sword flew into the air. It clattered to the dirt further away, and I began to panic.

"Can't or won't?" Kratos repeated the famous line. "What is it that is stopping you, Alexa Embers?"

"My skill!" I shrieked. "I can't fight for crap, never have, never will!"

"Skills can be improved over time, with proper training. I believe you said something about one thousand hours of practicing to master a skill?"

"I had no idea what I was talking about!"

I brought up another shield, stumbling on my steps. What was that, my eighth Protective Aura? My head burned, mind beginning to feel the slightest bit dizzy.

"What is it you are afraid of, Alexa Embers?"

Kratos swung his sword down, and I jumped to the side. I landed on the edge of my foot, tumbling to my right arm. Wincing, I began to pick myself up, before shouting, "Protective Aura!"

The sword met my shield, being propelled backwards for the last time. Gasps were tearing from my chest; my arm slipped underneath my weight. It was horrible, how much mana depletion could affect you. Coughs ripped from my chest, stealing away any breath I had. I pressed both palms against the dirt and began to lever myself onto all four. My hair dropped over my shoulder, abstracting my vision.

A sword point touched the base of my neck lightly, guiding my chin higher. I met Kratos' cold eyes, and without moving my head, I looked away. He didn't change his static form as he repeated, "What are you afraid of, Alexa Embers?"

Suddenly, I cracked. Everything, the past days events, hell, the past few weeks events crashed through my mind. My brain… It was loosing all composure suddenly, as if the last string to my sanity had been broken. Breaking every promise I had made not to freak out, to keep my head when I came here, I fell back on my legs, hitting my back on a protruding rock. "I don't want to become a _murderer_," I cried out, my hands flying to my hair. The wind blew quietly, sending the debris to fly through the air. _Screw this, screw everything. Kratos had asked, he was going to hear._ "I don't want to die, and I don't want to kill anyone! I knew that when I came, I might be stuck killing someone, but… no! I don't want to become a damn killer! I don't want to become a _fucking murderer._" I hit my fists against the ground. "I killed someone! What if they were someone's father, someone's brother?! What then!? Am I suppose to go on in life like I never hurt a soul my entire life?! Am I suppose to turn around and continue to kill anyone who gets in my way!?"

I hit my forehead against my knees, curling into a ball. My entire bodying was shaking, from the anger, the confusion, the _guilt_. If it hadn't been for the fact I hadn't eaten in the past day, I would've thrown up all over the side of the road. It was sickening, horrifying… I tried not to look up, afraid of what shame might fall upon me.

The next words threw me off. "It is normal to feel such emotions."

I looked up, making sure it was Kratos in front of me. It was either him, or Yggdrasil in disguise. I wasn't sure which one I preferred.

"It is human to feel such emotions," Kratos elaborated, looking away. "Not feeling those emotions is a sign that one is not human, in the sense." Kratos paused. "You are in a position different from most people. You will have to kill again, if you wish to continue on this journey. Had you not killed that Desian, he would've killed both you and Lloyd, and killed many more after. You have, in a sense, saved lives in taking another."

"Greater good," I scoffed.

"Think of it as you will. As long as you recognize your purpose, it will be at your own hands whether you are truly a murderer or not," Kratos replied soundly. He kicked at the ground and something hit my foot. "Are you prepared to take that role?"

I lifted my head, looking at the sword. I hated it, more than anything right now. I hated this whole… situation. This wasn't right, it wasn't anywhere near right. However… The feeling of justice, of calmness passed over me. I could never be Kratos – I could never kill someone without a second thought. Lloyd, he looked like he had trouble whenever he did kill someone. There's was usually something – a flinch, a facial expression of some sort.

"Are you prepared?"

I nodded weakly, and after rubbing the corner of my eyes with the back of my hand, I gripped my sword tightly.

"Yeah," I muttered. Kratos nodded his head, preparing himself. "Can I ask for one favor?"

Kratos' expression changed to wary, awaiting my response. "…Don't tell anyone else traveling with us. I want to be the ones to tell them, or at least Lloyd and Ra- the Professor."

"If you wish to be the one to tell them, I have no objections. Now, following my movements. Prepare to counter."

Kratos' sword came at an angle, pointed slightly at me. I brought myself into a different position, waiting careful. "Do not let your mind wander. Focus, be prepared…"

He moved deliberate, slow, and my arms moved unfamiliarly. My right arm drew back, my left arm crossed over my chest. The hilt was hovering over my shoulder, and suddenly, I was glowing. A faint, and very familiar blue…

_Lloyd ran in front of the Ktugach, his whole being glowing a faint blue. "Watch this…" He brought up one arm high, power surging through him. "Fierce Demon Fang!" _

Energy was pulsing from all side of me, all the while, control was slipping. My mouth opened, beginning to form phrases even I didn't recognize. "Here I go!" I stated the battle cry. My voice was filled with something different, more powerful.

"_Dragon's Breath!"_

For the first time, I SAW Kratos display shock. His eyes had widened, and he brought up a quick Guardian, right before a surge of mana pulsed through my sword. Suddenly, flames ignited at the tip, and a stream of fire shot out. The strike was angled towards the sky, barely skimming over Kratos' shield. He took it down, his face smoothed of all emotion again. My sword clattered to the ground, and I stepped back.

I wasn't sure which scared me most: the fact I had just used something that looked fairly close to a magic based tech or the fact I had surprised Kratos Aurion.


	16. The Official Start of the Hard Path

**Oh my goodness, the plot is actually GOING SOMEWHERE this chapter. Yes, I had some scenes to get through, and now that those are all over, there's going to be some walking scenes and finally, some progress. Whewt, I'm happy. By the way, new record on chapter length (before the nice author(ess) note): 5.6k words. Gah, hopefully that will make up for my lack of updates... Along with the length, we have a... special guest. ;D**

**Shadow- no wait, Big Boss01: That is seriously going to take some adjusting. So, thanks for reviewing, and post traumatic stress is fun. Unfortunately, it has taken up too much time and must be moved pass... for now...  
**

**Whatsername427: Well, I kinda like keeping Kratos evil... I can't really see him as light and fluffy (I'm pretty sure I stole those words from one of your reviews...) But some hairgel... not a bad idea. :D Magic is fun too! Huzzah for random techs! Thanks for reviewing, as well! :D  
**

**So yeah... lets get this show on the road.**

**~Fukachi no Rin  
**

If there was one golden rule to Self-Insertisms all around Earth, it was to keep Kratos far from suspicious at all costs. This rule was to be followed, even if it meant lying through your teeth the entire time, creating some false story of your past, or completely consuming who you were before. It was a given fact, that if _I_ wanted to stay on this journey, I would have to stay in the clear zone with Kratos.

And right now, I was pretty sure I was millions of miles from that clear zone.

I looked at my hands uneasily, checking for any indications of magic or fire. Other than the slight tingling in my fingertips, there was no further indications that I had been _near_ magic. I closed my palms into fists, and turn them over to the back of my hand. The faint blue glow that had once illuminated my being had disappeared, and I remained a seemingly normal human.

I looked up to Kratos for a moment, and stared almost immediately back down to the ground, avoiding his gaze completely. I really didn't want to explain myself, not now when I had _no_ exclamation.

"How is it that you performed that spell?"

Spell? Well, that was a bit harsh. There was no chanting or anything... Just a name attack and a blast of fire. A very _off_ blast of fire, might I add. I studied each grain of dirt carefully, my head bowed.

"I... I think..." I stammered, hands slamming into my pockets. I mentally yelled at myself, for never thinking of a back story behind my techs. I honestly didn't think it would be a big deal – I was convinced at the time I was going to get the ol' boring "Demon Fang." I really wished I had thought about this more thoroughly before...

"It's because of my mom's blood."

"You're mother's blood?" Kratos repeated. "Are you saying you're a half-elf?"

"Ye- I mean no!" I ejaculated, briefly remembering my argument from Triet. "I'm not a half-elf; my mom wasn't a elf, but a... eighth elf. She had inherited genes originally from her father, who inherited his from his father, and he inherited-"

"Hmph. A hybrid, then."

Kratos didn't sound completely convinced, more like he was ruminating on the entire situation. Thanks for your complete and utter trust, Kratos. This is definitely one of your less likable traits. "I guess," I replied. "The elven blood has been really watered down over the past generations. My mother never had the ability to use magic though... I mean, I guess it could've skipped a generation."

I looked up for the first time in all of my rambles, pausing for Kratos' reply. The mercenary just... stared. He looked semi-interested in my story (probably trying to figure out if I was a Renegade spy or not...) "So, how are you able to use magic?"

"My situation is very much like yours," he responded without a second thought. "My grandfather was an elf, long ago. My blood has less diluted than yours, and because of that, I can cast a vast multitude of spells."

Vast multitude of spells... Sounded like a threat to me. "Well..." I stated, picking up my sword. "It's getting really late, and I think it be best to call it-"

"Where do you think you're going?" My soul jumped out of my throat and back into my body. I slowly turned back around, and my eyes widened to the size of Colette's chakrams.

"You still another five hours remaining."

My shoulders relaxed, and I carefully held my sword. "Can't we just cut practice short to-"

Kratos threw his arm over his shoulders, swinging his sword towards my head. I brought my sword to the side, blocking his frontal offense, and grinned. "Hey, I'm blocking! I'm actually-"

The edge of his shield made contact with my stomach, pressing deeper to my spine. I cough, pain welling up through my gut, and I reached for the shield with my left hand.

"Had you been wearing armor, that attack wouldn't have effect you."

And then Kratos did the most unbelievable action ever. He _tripped_ me. Well, not exactly a trip – it was more of a "I-put-my-foot-behind-your-ankle and knock-your-leg-off-balance." I tried to regain my balance on one foot, but the bastard decided to take advantage of my misbalance and knock me over with his shield. Now on my back, I was a useless person in lots of pain.

"On your feet once more."

I groaned, stumbling back up. I had developed a severe headache, and it wasn't going away. "Now, come at me!"

"Just five mor-" Kratos whirled his arm into a strike, and I cried, "Protective Aura!"

The familiar green barrier emitted around my body. As soon as Kratos' sword hit it, however, it broke into a million pieces, as if it were made out of a thin shell. The flat of the blade smacked against my shoulder, and a sunburst of pain exploded at that same spot.

"Hey Kratos..." I muttered, staggering. "Is it bad if your sight goes fuzzy?"

"It will not matter to your enemies-"

"Good to know," I muttered before falling into a dead faint.

**;:;:;:;:;:;;:;:;:;:;:;:**

It was almost cold.

Cold and airy. There was no real moisture in the air, nor was there any real warmth. Just cold, sere, air. I shivered, pulling my knees closer to my chest. I really could use a blanket right now. Keeping my eyes shut, I patted the ground around me, searching for anything that closely resembled cloth. Nothing... _Nothing_ that felt remotely like a blanket came under my palm – actually, it all felt very grainy and coarse...

My eyes snapped open as I shot up. "Kratos... YOU BASTARD!"

Not only had he left me on the top of the cliff, but he had taken my sword. What was he thinking? What if a freaking bandit or – screw this, he'd be hearing my rage in a matter of minutes. I began to push myself to my feet, only to stop. There was a dull pain coming from my arm... Turning my head carelessly, the scent of blood hit my nose and I sucked in a breath.

There was blood all over my shoulder. Some had started to dry over, but most of it, was still red, fresh. And it hurt a lot.

I grabbed the edge of my sleeve with my right hand. The soaked fabric peeled from my skin easily as I rolled it up almost to my neck. There was a thin cut etched across my left shoulder, and it was still bleeding profusely. Using my shirt proved to be difficult, to wipe off the blood, especially since my entire shirt was already soaked...

Footsteps began to echo, from the path. I gasped, my eyes searching for my sword. No, that's right, Kratos had stolen it! The footsteps were becoming louder, and I scrambled onto a hand and both knees, half crawling behind a large rock. I held my breath, biting my lip. _Please don't let it be a thief, please don't let it be a thief..._

Two red boots came into my vision, and a familiar voice called my name. "Alex?"

"Lloyd?" I jumped to my feet, hand still holding my shoulder. Lloyd stood at the end of the path, dressed in the black tank he usually wore underneath his jacket, his skin giving off a glow underneath the moonlight. He still looked sorta sweaty, from the sickness, and his hair was clinging onto his scalp in a very off way.

"Alex, what are you doing he- what happened to your arm?"

"I think it was Kratos," I replied spitefully.

"Why do you think he-"

"Because he's an asshole," I said coolly. "Forget about me. What are you doing out of bed? Aren't you supposed to be recovering from a life-death situation?"

"I got up for dinner. The others said you had gone off for training and after you didn't show up for a few hours, I decided to look for you. I mean, Kratos came in about half-way through the meal, so I figured that you had decided not to eat, but..."

"I think I had a mana deprivation episode," I confessed.

Lloyd's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Well, Kratos had decided to use real swords, and I ended up using Protective Aura lots..." The pain in my arm throbbed. "Hey, would you happen to have an Apple Gel on you?"

"Oh, um..." Lloyd dug through his pockets. "Oh, I think I might – no, it's an Orange Gel."

An idea hit me immediately. "I'll take that. I mean, it'll help the loss of mana."

Lloyd handed me the small disc, the orange gelatin substance, and I nibbled around the edges. "Should we head back...?"

"Yeah." Lloyd turned around, starting back around the corner. He left my sight, and I looked at my hand.

"Alright. Um... Come on, words, words... First Aid?"

Nothing. "Um, are you okay? First Aid!"

My whisper wasn't even loud enough for me to hear. "Don't overdo it. First Aid!" I mimicked in Kratos' low voice.

Nothing. "Damn it! Why isn't it wo-"

"Hey, Alex?" Lloyd swerved his head around the edge, and I covered my shoulder with my shirt. He didn't seem to notice this action. "Are you coming?"

"Oh, yes!" I faked my enthusiasm. Lloyd waited patiently as I shuffled next to him. Damn, Lloyd was tall. Now, this was coming from someone that was from a fairly short family, but… Well, there was always a border between normal tall and too tall. I was thinking Lloyd was on the "too tall" side…

"Hey Lloyd, has anyone ever told you that you're tall?"

Lloyd's gaze wandered to the corner of his eye, a confused look on his face. "Um, what?"

"Nevermind," I coughed.

"…You're a bit weird, Alex."

I laughed. "Yeah, I know. But, this is coming from the guy whose hair defies all gravity!"

Lloyd chuckled quietly, pulling his hands behind his head. I swerved around to avoid being hit by his elbow. "So Alex, have you ever had those really real dreams?"

Lloyd's words caught me off guard, as the images of the deceased woman pushed through my thoughts. "Yeah, I have," I muttered, barely audible. "Why do you ask?"

"I had a dream earlier… When I was poisoned." Lloyd exhaled, shoulders dropping from the tense state. "Genis and I were in Triet… We were searching for Colette. It sorta ended with me getting zapped," he laughed carelessly.

"Huh," was my quiet reply. I gripped my throbbing arm tightly, trying to ease the pain. More blood began to stream out, and I swore under my breath.

"You should have the Professor look at that," Lloyd suggested, his sight set on my bleeding wound. I stared at the open gash unwillingly, wishing for it to suddenly disappear.

"You're right. It might get infected," I sighed as we turned on the path. After descending to the end of the trail, Lloyd and I stopped in front of the inn, both quiet. Well, Lloyd was quiet. I had started humming a tune from one of my favorite games, _Golden Sun_. Well, actually from the sequel, where you entered a town with werewolves that had Wind Psynergy…

My mind really needed to be set solid on one track.

"Hey Lloyd, could you do me a favor?" I started quietly. In the moonlight, I could see one of Lloyd's eyebrows cock high. "Hold me back if I try to attack Kratos."

Lloyd wore the "your-really-confusing-me" face, and I shook my head. "I don't think Kratos has enough patience to not kill me out of sheer annoyance."

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

"Come in." I opened the door and stepped through the way. Raine placed her papers in the corner of her desk at once, her eyes focused on the document in front of her. "Alexa, I am glad to see you," she said, not turning her gaze. How she knew it was me, I had no idea. "I have put together an assignment for you to complete with your-" She stopped mid-phrase, and titled her head up. "Alexa… What happened to you?"

I opened my mouth to explain, but she raised her hand. "Sit before you explain. And roll up your sleeve – I assume that is why you came to me?"

"Thanks, Professor." Not like I'd need your help if a stupid Muse had given me First Aid in the first place! Raine rolled her sleeves to her elbows before she dragged over a stool next to the wooden chair I sat in. She grabbed from a table both a bowl of water and a washcloth, dipping it into the water. I winced as she dabbed the damp cloth against my skin, removing thick traces of blood. The stench of the cut waft through my nose, causing my mind to whirl. Did I ever mention how much blood there was?

"The slice is straight, as if someone cut through you with a blade," Raine observed, her eyes flashing up.

"I… uh… tripped. And fell on my sword. Ironic, isn't it?" Raine continued to watch my expression until I finished my sentence, and after that she focused her attention on the cut.

"Kratos never mentioned this…" Raine stated quietly, rinsing the cloth once more.

"Yeah… It happened after he left," I lied. I didn't want to lie to Raine, not after all the BS I had laid on her since the beginning. She was the reason I was here, after being convinced on a petty lie about my education. Unfortunately, I wouldn't put it past Kratos to be a big bully if I ratted him out. Then again, I wouldn't put it past him to be a big bully just because he was having a shitty day.

"I can use First Aid on the cut. That should close the wound. There still a chance an infection entered your body, however."

"Alright," I nodded. Raine took away the cleaning cloth, and placed her hand on my shoulder. She began to mutter incantations, her voice soft, before her mana spread over my wound. A warm sensation spilt over me, and Raine removed her hand. My skin had wrinkled somewhat, and the spot of the original slice was protruding out. From the looks of it, it was going to scar.

"That's odd…" Raine murmured, her voice impassive. "It didn't fully heal…"

I slapped my hand over the scar, placing it as a barrier between my shoulder and Raine's thoughtful stare. "Well, thank you, Professor. I'll make sure to wash it daily, eat my vitamins, stay healthy and such, so if you don't mind, I'll just be-" I backed away clumsily to the back door, turned on my heels, and reached for the doorknob.

"Alexa." My hand stopped, wrapped around the doorknob. I looked over my shoulder, waiting for Raine's completed statement during the pause. She shook her head hesitantly, eyes casting back to the ground. "Nevermind. Remember to wake early in the morning."

"I will," I replied simply, turning the brass knob.

"And Alexa-" I rotated my neck again impatiently. I really wanted to leave, and wash the blood out of my shirt. The stench had been starting to get to me – any minute from now, I would start vomiting from pure disgust.

A small smile danced on Raine's lips, although she still wasn't looking up. "Don't forget to turn in your homework."

I moaned audibly at the word "homework" as I shut the door behind me.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;**

A long time ago, when I was about five or so, I could remember waking up to the nice chirping of birds, the fresh smell of pancakes being cooked, or even so the blaring of my alarm clock in the mornings. It was times like now that I missed those mornings, where I'd wake to some sort of sentiment, to sorts of normality.

This morning, I woke up in surrounded in black smoke. And lots of thumping.

Alright, maybe it wasn't completely black smoke. But there was definitely the burnt smell and the kinda foggy atmosphere. And the thumping… I make no amends on that statement. Anyway, I rolled out of my bed, landing on the wooden ground and crushing my suppose-to-be-healing shoulder. Hay stuffed mattress, crude wooden floors… It wasn't the most luxurious dwelling, but it was MUCH better than camping.

I stumbled out of my room, coughing up a storm. It was definitely cloudier here, when compared to my room. I wove my hand in front of my face, fanning away the clouds from my vision. After several attempts (I tripped on one of the steps), I finally made it THROUGH the hallway and DOWN the stairs. And from there, I found the source of this obscurity – the kitchen.

"Oh no…" I whimpered, pushing open the kitchen door. Smoke rushed out of the room, and there was a certain…. _noise_ coming from the kitchen. It sounded like… "Nehhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" It was also taking a crescendo, as if someone were quite frankly, very pissed off. Had it not been for the higher pitch in the tone, (and the altogether immaturity of the sound,) I would've guessed it to be Kratos. HE was the only person I knew who could get annoyed to this degree. Except for Yggdrasil. And maybe Yuan…

"I can't believe this! Who tries to put lemons and oranges into their omelets? It's an outrage I tell you, an outrage!"

"But think of the possibilities!" A very familiar Professor's voice defended, echoing over into the main room. "An omelet made of fresh eggs with a citrus taste mixed into its center… Think of the tangy flavor it might produce!"

"I quit!" Before I even got a chance to walk into the room, something – _someone_ – ran straight into me. Couldn't blame them, seeing as how hard it was to see around here, but still! Knocking me onto the butt, I hit the ground quite royally (not really…) and looked up at the perpetrator.

Then my brain died.

Green overalls. Lopsided hat, over a bushel of blond hair. Goofy smile. Fork that would send a Desian running for his money. Oh my goodness, you had to kidding me….

"Why hello, Alexa!" the Wonder Chef greeted. My jaw hung open, and I only gaped. "Is it just me, or is it a bit smoky in here?"

"H-how do you know-"

"Your name? It's written on your name tag!" The Wonder Chef pointed at my shirt, and I lifted up the material. True to his word, stuck onto my shirt was a "HELLO, my name is Alexa" nametag, messy writing and all.

"How did that-"

"Get there? You put it on when you woke up!"

"No I didn't!" I argued. "I'm pretty sure I can't find nametags like this in Sylvarant."

"I know, I was just kidding! Kratos put it on you!" I found myself glaring at the Wonder Chef, who only looked sheepishly at me. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to Tethe'alla! Those Sybakians study so much, they hardly remember to cook for themselves! But then again, I'm pretty sure you know all about that!"

"I- what? How do you know that I know?"

"I just know!" the Wonder Chef replied, his voice playful.

"Damn it! Can't you just give me straight answers?"

"Nope!" he said goofily, raising his fork. In a gentle poof, the Wonder Chef had disappeared, adding yet, even MORE smoke into the kitchen. At the rate things were going right now, this was one of the worst mornings I had had since I came into Sylvarant. The only plus…. Well, it couldn't really get any worst, right?

The inn door burst open, followed by rushed steps. "Sis!"

I got onto my feet. "Hey midget, is that you?"

The smoke had started clearing, escaping out the open door. Along with that, light was finally making its way into the room, and illuminating most of it. Genis was at the front of the door, ears turning red, hair disheveled, face looking very _pale_. Quite frankly, he looked very _exhausted_. "Shut up failure! We got a situation!"

"Situation?" I repeated.

"Yeah! That assassin! She's outside attacking Lloyd and Colette!"

_Sheena!_ "What!"

"Yeah! The three of us took a walk outside this morning and suddenly, she came out of nowhere and started attacking the three of us. Lloyd told me to go find Kratos and Sis, but I can't find Kratos anywhere and-"

"You get your sister – she's in the kitchen!" I commanded, pushing Genis out of the way. "Go get her while I help them!"

I was out of the Inn in no time, inhaling the fresh morning air. There wasn't any birds chirping, nor any wind rushing through us – only silent nature. A noise vibrated through the air – the throwing up of someone's shield, and I ran for the other side of Hima.

Sheena was trying to assassinate Colette. But she was having contradicting feelings still, right? This wasn't too bad then – I mean, as long as Sheena wasn't out for blood or anything, we could still manage to fight off the clumsy assassin with no problem, right?

Right?

I skidded to a stop in the dirt, grabbing the hilt of my sword. A blur of red was _dancing_ around another blur of purple, while a white-clad figure stood at a distance from them.

Sheena slapped her spell card straight over Lloyd's chest. "Pyre Seal!"

Lloyd was engulfed by a red explosion, and the teenager fell on his back, arms spread around him. His sword had fallen from his grasp, and he didn't make any movement, or indication of life. Sheena drew out a new deck of cards, her focus altered to her new target.

I swore. "Colette get out of here! Fly the crap-"

A card landed on my chest, followed by, "Life Seal!"

Suddenly, all I could see around me was white. White light, blinding every corner of my vision was in effect, and next was the substantial amount of _pain_. Lots of pain, welling around my chest, draining any energy I had ever HAD. I had fallen to my knees quite suddenly, my body shaking. I looked up, and Sheena's eyes narrowed. The cuts on her face were healing before my eyes, and she turned away, running to Colette.

Lloyd sprung to life instantaneously, and screamed, "Demon Fang!" The blade of mana was deflected my Sheena's own shield. She looked behind her, her hands weaving seals, and threw out a card. "Distract him, Corinne!"

Out of a poof of smoke came out the little rodent-looking summon spirit. He was sprinting towards Lloyd very quickly, and Lloyd didn't look like he was paying too much attention. I wouldn't myself usually, considering the animal was yeh big, looked like a Vulpix that was colored by a three year old, and potentially, harmless. But if memory served correctly, that thing could pack a fairly powerful punch. I grabbed my sword, pointing it towards Corinne, and shouted, "Dragon's Breath!"

Fire shot out from the end of my sword, streaming directly at Corinne. It was right on target, nailing the little brat right on the tail, yet not inflicting any damage that was noteworthy while Lloyd jumped over the fire, unharmed, and continued to beat the crap out of Sheena.

Haha. Yeah right.

Absolutely nothing happened. There was no mana, no magic, no nothing. I was actually on the verge of breaking into random curses as I hit my sword against the ground. "Come on! Dragon's Breath, damn it!"

"Ugh!"

Corinne had collided with Lloyd, his head jammed into his stomach. He was thrown back against the inn, and hit the building with a dull thud. Then he… slumped. His head was bowed, all muscles relaxed, unused. _He was unconscious_.

"Lloyd!" Colette cried. She looked at the teenager, then back at Sheena. Colette raised her hand innocently, a gesture of peace. "Please, I'm sure if we talk, we'll be able to work something out…"

"What makes you think that, Chosen?" Sheena spat spitefully, a card in front of her face.

Blue eyes set on the assassin's weapons, the Chosen of Sylvarant brought her gaze back up to eye level. Finally, they shut, as a smile extended itself from Colette's frown. "Because you and I are friends."

Sheena's eyes widened, as she froze in her tracks. It was that moment of hesitation that we needed. I put my hands into my pocket, trying to find a life bottle, when a shadow passed overhead and grew over Sheena and Colette.

Kratos Aurion landed smack in front of Colette, his landing causing the whole ground to rumble. Sheena snapped back into reality, flinging one of her spell cards. It was burned away at Kratos' immediate spell, and he rammed the hilt of his sword into her stomach.

Sheena flipped her way onto her feet, and raised her arm next to her. "Pyre-"

She tilted her head out of the way, Kratos' sword where she had once been. The mercenary brought his blade down, to which Sheena whirled out of the way. She grabbed out another card, aiming for the swordsman's shield-arm, but she was hit unexpectedly on the forearm. The Mizuhoin Ninja rolled back, braced on her feet.

More footsteps indicated running, and from behind me came Genis and Raine. "Lloyd!"

The half-elf ran to his best friend's side, his face contorted with fear and worry. "What did you do to him, you heartless assassin!" Sheena's expression didn't change at Genis' sharp accusations, and the magician drew out his kendama. "I won't let you hurt anymore of my friends!"

"Heh… You're a little late for that…" Sheena scoffed, digging her hand into her pocket. She rose an arm, palm pointed at me, and said, "Hand over the Chosen or your friend here dies!"

There was a brief silence, as each person tried to absorb her words.

Genis beat me to the punch line. "Not this again!" Genis moaned. "Come on, there's no way you can kill Alex-"

"Have you noticed that card on your friend's chest?" Sheena asked, her tone questioning everyone's intellect. "That card is and will continue to drain out her entire life force until she is nothing but a cold corpse." I looked at the piece of paper stuck onto my shirt, and grabbed the edges, attempting to pry it off. "It'll only disappear if I will it to."

"You've tried using her as an exchange once before," Raine stated clearly, her voice calm. "What makes you think our discussion has altered since then?"

"I was only using her as an example," Sheena smirked. "Have any of you wondered why your friend in the red jacket – Lloyd, I believe his name was – hasn't woken up?"

Genis' eyes widened suddenly, and the half elf grabbed his friend by the shoulders, shaking him. "Lloyd, wake up! Lloyd!" Lloyd's posture fell once more, as his entire body tumbled to the ground. Genis stopped shaking his friend, and I caught a small fragment of white attached to the boy's back.

Raine bolted to Lloyd's side, falling onto her knees. "Oh… Martel…" she gasped.

Sheena held her chin up triumphantly. "It's your choice."

I looked at Sheena, my eyes widened in fear. Her expression was unmoving, as she continued to threaten my _life_. Unless something happened, unless she removed them, I was _dead_. And I _knew_ Kratos didn't give a rat's ass about my life. I was _screwed_.

"Stone Blast!"

The ground from underneath Sheena crumbled, shooting up at her. She was caught off guard, and she threw up a shield in retaliation. Before she could land on her feet, Kratos was behind her, sword in hand. The hilt of his sword made contact with the back of her head, and Sheena collapsed, unconscious.

The piece of paper against my clothes peeled off, fluttering into the wind. Genis saw this, and reached over to Lloyd, ripping off the seal from his jacket. "What the-"

"She was bluffing," Kratos concluded, answering all of our questions.

Raine nodded. "Indeed. She had tried it once, back then, and the situations were so similar… I can't believe I never saw it before…"

There was a door swinging open, and out from the Inn came a woman with red hair. "I'm sorry for – oh." Her eyes flashed between all of us, gazed on each of our weapons, and the fallen comrades.

Raine stood up on her feet. "Can we help you?"

"Oh, um, it's nothing!" the flustered woman said, smoothing out the wrinkles in her apron. "I came here to speak to Sheena-" She indicated to the fallen assassin, and looked at us suspiciously.

Raine noticed this. "We're friends of Sheena," she lied. "Actually, she's part of our group. She fell unconscious during our sparing, but if you have any news you wish to tell her, we'll gladly carry the message."

"I see…" Sophia mused. "Very well. Please come into the Inn. I have found information that I'd prefer to discuss privately."

Sophia turned around, walking gracefully to the Inn. I looked at the others, waiting for someone to break the silence. I mean, I wasn't going to break the silence. I was still iffy on the entire "starting the hard path" thing.

"Raine, why did you say that?" Genis outburst, waving his hands in the air.

"She seems to know the assassin. Any information she tells us will give us more information about her," Raine simply responded, resolved. Kratos nodded at her inference, looking impressed by her wit, while I was getting to my feet, trying to dust off the dirt from my uniform.

"We could always just ask Sheena-" Colette was cut off by a poof of smoke. I turned around to the center, where Sheena had just been. She was gone, disappeared once more.

…I really needed to learn how Sheena did that. Ninja skills were definitely cooler than sword's.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

"This man's name is Pietro, and he's been here ever since last night…"

I leaned over the edge of the wooden bed, peering over the frame. Pietro was a very pale man, paler than Lloyd had just been. Sweat made a clear layer over his body, and his eyes were shut in agony. He jerked at random times, muttering inaudibly in between his shallow breathing. Raine raised his arms, her mana flowing into his body during her observing.

"He had escaped from the Human Ranch, and Sheena found him and carried him here." Sophia places her hand on Pietro's forehead, her eyes soft. "He's dieing, and there's nothing we can do about it. I tried every medicine we have in the Inn but nothing is working…"

I tilted my head back, not paying very much attention. Sure, this was suppose to be a moving scene, where we start the Hard Path with intentions of helping Pietro but did I care? Nope, I was more worried about the fight with the Boss at the Tower of Mana… whatever its name was than saving this man. Because when we fought Undine, we'd have Sheena. And Sheena kicked ass. She proved that today.

Raine dropped his arm, her face hard. "There's no doubt. He's been cursed."

"That's why I thought the legendary Boltzman healing technique… If there was anything powerful enough to help Pietro, it would be that. Unfortunately, the volumes were long lost, and we still would need to find a healer…"

"Professor could heal him," Colette volunteered. "Couldn't you, Professor?"

Raine nodded, resting a hand on her chin. "Perhaps… but to heal something of this magnitude…"

"Please, if you could help Pietro-" Sophia pleaded, but she was cut off.

"Unfortunately, we have more pressing manners on hand," Kratos stated, his voice low.

"Like the Word Regeneration," I added. Hey, if it gave brownie points from Kratos, I was in.

"Yeah…" Genis shook his head. "Hey, do you know if there are any ruins or anything related to the world regeneration around here?"

"The world regeneration?" Sophia repeated. "I don't really know… Perhaps the Tower of Mana…"

Genis looked confused. "Tower of Mana?"

"It's a tower used by the Church of Martel to offer prayers to the Tower of Salvation," Colette informed him, hands linked in front of her. "It was closed some time ago when monsters began to appear inside of it."

"The journey we're on is very important," Raine stated, her voice emotionless. "If we find the technique during out explorations, we might be able to help, but otherwise…"

"I understand. Thank you anyway," Sophia said. "The Tower of Mana is northeast of here, north of Luin. The Church of Martel in Luin is in charge of that tower." She paused then, and quietly said, "Thank you, friends of Sheena. I hope that our paths shall cross one day."

"They just might," Raine smiled, and I tried my hardest to keep myself from grinning ear to ear.

Hey, what else could you do to keep yourself sane on the Hard Path?

* * *

**Hey, what do you know, they're ACTUALLY going off to the Tower of Mana. And then there's lots of walking after that... So much fun, right? Thanks for reading and keeping patient with me! And now... I am off to catch a certain Ho-oh!**


	17. Locked Towers and Ladybugs

**Holy crap, an update! And a chapter that isn't ONLY walking and Alexa dealing with her life. It's a sign of the apocolypse! Not really.**

**This is the part where I say sorry for taking so long to update; I've been having writer's block over the past few weeks. Along with that, I'm going to insert my own apology here. If there are any parts of this chapter that flicker into present tense, I'm really sorry, I don't know what was happening. My brain was going really weird near the end of this chapter, and I TRIED to defeat any usage of present tense but... Well, if you see something like that, you know why.**

**Oh, before I forget, thanks to Big Boss 01, whatsername427, and Idrill-tales for reviewing last chapter! You guys make my day all happy and butterfly-filled with poneys and... Alright, forget the poneys. Bottom line: I really appreciate the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: If I DID own Tales of Symphonia, well, every Z-skit would've been spoken by the voice actors. That's all I have to say today...**

* * *

Looking back on the few days had brought me to a realization. An epiphany of sorts, akin to those that great philosophers would spend decades of their lives to reach, after constant rumination and thoughts on the subject until they discovered the answer. My thoughts had been centered around this for the longest time, and I had come to the wizen conclusion that I felt defined my life itself.

Spanning from the Triet Desert to now, the battles had gone from uber-hard to "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE" hard.

I wasn't just saying this because of my own inability to fight the hordes of monsters that had attacked us. Believe me, that was one of the contributing factors. But when you've COMPLETELY run out of Apple Gels, Panacea Bottles, and Life Bottles right after you had just restocked the supply that morning, it was safe to say mere skill wasn't the only thing holding a person back.

On the bright side, Raine had learned Recover that morning. Although yet not perfect, her healing artes had gotten much better in the past week. The First Aids she cast almost completely closed the inflicted wounds, and she even had begun developing the ability to heal multiple wounds on a single person at once. Not as good as Nurse, but progress. However, Raine's healing artes were nothing compared to Kratos' special-super-awesome healing powers. Unfortunately to the majority of members of our merry group, the mercenary was too big of a douche to heal anyone past himself and the Chosen. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, Kratos wasn't healing his own SON.

"_I don't really understand what's up with Kratos,"_ I messaged quietly through my mind, fingering the green gem strung over my neck. Gossip Stone… Haha…

"_There's nothing to really understand about him,"_ my Muse responded, her tone indifferent.

"_I mean, I'm trying to grasp the idea that he _threatened _me earlier when I was helping Lloyd. I know he's suppose to care for Lloyd but… damn."_

"_He does care for Lloyd," _she agreed. _"And he did go a little too far. But you're forgetting one thing."_

"_What is that, you great and wonderful Museness?" _I asked sarcastically, pretending to be concentrating on a tree.

"_Kratos thought he had lost everything, when Anna died. He had lived like nothing mattered in his life for years, mindlessly going along with the ideals of a lunatic. After he was _finally _starting to accept that fateful event into his mind, he finds out that hope still exists, that his son is still alive. So when Lloyd got poisoned…"_

"_It was as if he were about to loose everything again,"_ I thought quietly.

"_Exactly. You keeping thinking that Kratos is a total jerk with no heart. In reality, Kratos does have a heart; he just doesn't use it, with a few exceptions. Besides-" _She paused for a moment, lapsing a silence in my thoughts._ "The threat he gave you was nothing compared to what he did to Kvar that night he lost Anna." _

I shuddered mentally. _"Thinking about that makes me almost feel sorry for Kvar. But considering he's a total dick, I don't give him much sympathy."_

"_Kvar is crueler than you think, Alexa dear. Much more cruel, inhuman."_

"_Well, duh. He's a certain race called "half-elf," and aren't exactly included under humans."_

"…_Be careful when you enter that ranch. I'd advise eating nothing before you enter that place."_

"_Make me feel all happy and confident. Thanks."_

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

Lloyd was having a dream tonight.

I couldn't come to another conclusion after I had heard the teenager mumble at least three million phrases in his sleep. To add on to his dormant activities, Lloyd had punched the air in front of him, swung his arms wildly as if he were wielding his dual swords, and even once did a martial arts flip into the air before landing painfully on his back. Lloyd was bringing sleep-walking a new meaning.

I hit my head against the base of the tree, rattling my brain into awareness. It was my turn for nightwatch, and I was very pissed off about it. Why couldn't Kratos be the nightwatch? Wasn't it his JOB to be sacrificing his time and health in order to protect the Chosen? Plus, being the undercover Cruxis Seraph that he was meant he didn't have to sleep! Well, I couldn't use that argument at the time, nor would I probably ever be able to… I wonder after we "found" out about Colette's inability to sleep, if she'd be posted as watch every night. Then again, after the fourth seal, she would be completely unable to warn us of any intruders...

The wrinkling of a sleeping mat broke my thoughts, followed by the low monotone, "Hey Alex."

"Sup Lloyd?" I nodded, staring off to the trees.

"Had another dream," the swordsman responded, and I resisted the urge to facepalm on the spot.

"That's cool," I replied indifferently. My head tilted forward, then back. It was becoming a chore, just to stay awake. Then again, that was what this entire night was. Staying awake until it was time to switch off with… who's shift was it after mine? I was going to assume Kratos.

"Here." Something rolled against the ground, hitting my thigh. I looked down momentarily, spotting the silver object and picked it up questioningly. "It has coffee in it," Lloyd explained as I turned the cylinder in my hands. There was definitely a swishing noise when I turned it on its side. I unscrewed the lid, and took a whiff of the liquid. Whew. Yep, that was coffee. "I made it a few nights ago, when I was on nightwatch, so it might taste a little old…"

"Thanks Lloyd," I sighed, tipping the drink into my mouth. A grimaced passed my lips as I forced down the contents. Lloyd drank his coffee black. I couldn't stand coffee without any creamer or sugar. Then again, Lloyd probably didn't have the option of cream or sugar. Any sugar we carried would be infested by flies, and dairy products would all spoil by the end of the day.

"Hey Alex…" Lloyd started, his voice quiet.

"Yeah, Lloyd?" I asked, turning my head. I was surprised he hadn't gone back to sleep. After sticking on the front lines, being hit many times, and thrown about thirty feet into air by a Cockatrice, I was sure HE would be the most exhausted of anyone here.

Lloyd shook his head abruptly, hiding underneath his bedspread once more. "Nevermind. Don't forget to switch shifts with Kratos." I couldn't help but feel shut out as Lloyd turned his back towards me, facing the opposite end of the forest. I had thought by now, after a few weeks, he and I would be buddy-buddy, especially after that little incident where I, oh, I don't know, SAVED his life from a poisoning. But ever since that night, since last night, he had been feeling almost distant, as if… naw, that was my own paranoia.

"Yeah, okay," I mumbled. Lloyd was probably just tired, that's all. I took my sword out of its sheath, stabbing it into the dying embers. The charred wood protested, little flickers of life springing from the ashes before the fire finally died. I sighed, sheathing my sword before hitting my head restlessly against the tree's base.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;::;::;:;:;:;:**

"The Tower of Mana was originally built following the ascension of the Goddess Martel to the heavens, as a place where Priests could worship the Tower of Salvation, as well as the Goddess Martel. The Tower had originally been under the control of the town Luin, but after Luin's destruction in the eleventh year of Chosen…" I stumbled on the words, mumbling some obscure phrase. "The control switched over to the Church of Martel in Asgard."

"Very good. Now, could you tell me the name of the Chosen at the time?"

"Um… Chosen… Larry?" I guessed on a whim.

"Close," Raine shook her head. "His name was Chosen Laurice."

"Right, right," I replied, shaking my head.

"How long ago did these events take place?"

"Oh, um…" I made a face. "Seventy-two years ago."

"Ninety-one," Raine corrected. "Your knowledge of the history is improving, but you seem to be having issues memorizing dates and names of Chosen's. Maybe another question…" Raine thought on the subject. "Perhaps some archaeology. What do you know about the Tower of Mana's structure?"

"Oh, um… It has lots of stairs! It also was made based on the Light Element, and has some magitechnology from the ancient world," I stated, remembering the lovely temple from my last playthrough. "It's also… composed of some very dense rock, and is really tall."

"Fairly accurate," Raine observed. "Can you remember the main means of support?"

"Um…" I thought back on the temple. "I think it has main beams or something like that in the interior walls… I'm not sure though."

"Not exactly. The Tower of Mana is partially held up by an underground structure that keeps up the base. From there, the stone walls are held up by supporting beams on the outside of the tower."

"…Right. Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. You learn with mistakes," Raine said.

Genis burst into gales of laughter suddenly. "Wow! The failure actually has a brain!"

I threw my study book at him. "Shut up, midget!"

"We're here!"

I flinched at Lloyd's announcement. He could be very loud when he tried, and not in a good way. Sleeping in was hard enough with with Kratos dumping you out of your sleeping spread after a given time. After sidestepping around the tall mountain, I looked up to the skies, the sight bringing a gasp to myself.

High above our heads was the Tower of Mana, casting a dark shadow to the East. It was mid afternoon after all, and could only be expected. The tower resided on a stone platform, used for its main support, while building was composed of millions of dark bricks and hundreds of ornamented glass windows. Over the doorway, I could make out an inscription, along with a stain-glassed window of a beautiful woman with long pastel green hair and a white-black-gold gown.

Raine ran to the front of the building, her eyes lit up like a child on Christmas Day. "So this is the Tower of Mana, meant to gaze upon the Tower of Salvation… _**FANTASTIC!**_"

Raine continued to run from pillar to pillar, observing each intricate detail of the said place. "I wonder if this might be a seal?" Colette whispered, her eyes set on the marvelous structure.

Kratos took a few smooth strides to the closed door. He raised his hand to the light orange stone, pushing his palm lightly against the split of the doors. Shaking his head, he brought his arm down and turned to the rest of us. "It appears to be locked."

"What? No way!" Lloyd ran up to the door, promptly pushing the mercenary aside. Kratos glared at the boy, as Lloyd pressed his entire weight against the door. "Ughh… Come on! Open, you stupid door!"

Raine's eyes dimmed back into reality, setting her gaze on the locked door. "If we find the person in charge of it, we may be able to enter."

"But Raine," Genis argued. "We don't even know if this is a seal! It's not like there's an Oracle Stone right outside of it!"

"The Oracle Stone could be inside," I offered, adding my own contribution.

Kratos turned his back on the building, crossing his arms over his chest. "If we cannot go inside, there is no point in remaining here."

"Sophia said that the Church of Martel in Luin was in charge of the Tower of Mana," Raine informed us, nodding her head in agreement. "We could ask them for the key."

"Or better yet, if this place was a seal," Genis mumbled. Raine spun around and slapped him over the head.

"At any rate, we will not know until we reach the inside," said a cryptic Kratos.

"Yes, you're right," Colette agreed cheerily. She took a look at Lloyd (who was STILL shoving his shoulders against the stone door), and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Come on, Lloyd, let's go."

Lloyd continued to try opening the door with all the strength he had, his face turning the same color of his jacket. "Geez Lloyd," I called. "Save some energy for the monsters, will you?"

"Alexa has a point," Raine nodded. She took two strides behind the boy and grabs the collar of his jacket, dragging him away from the Tower. "Come along, Lloyd, we have to leave."

"Wha- but, no! Professor! I was JUST starting to make some progress! A few more seconds and the door would be wide open!"

I heard Kratos slap his hand against his forehead before our exeunt.

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

"Alexa, do the rest of us a favor: refrain from humming and focus on the battle!"

Oh, well sorry Kratos. The lack of tunes and music for the past few weeks had been driving me insane. We were in another perilous battle, against three of those ladybug things and a cockatrice. I had felt like humming the battle theme of Sylvarant, just to get the general zeitgeist of the situation before I got my ass handed back to me by a ladybug. Yep, things were that dire on this side of the field – what about everyone else?

Lloyd and Kratos were pairing up against the Cockatrice, trying to kick its butt before it did any real harm. Funny thing was, it was very hard for Lloyd to fight the thing. Lloyd had been forbidden at the beginning of the battle to look past the right wing of the Cockatrice, as a means to preserve his movement. Lloyd had no idea why, being the person who never paid attention in monster class, and therefore had spent the battle confused and trying desperately to hack away at the monster's legs. Kratos had been trying his best as well, and probably would've beaten the enemy had it not been for the hundred times he almost got attacked by Lloyd. Kratos was having some real crappy luck, at the very least.

I took a stab at the ladybug, missing the main body completely. For the record, I did skim the wing, and that sorta helped by screwing its aim. It also killed my chances, for it sent the ladybug spiraling and crashing into the top of the head. I hit the ground, my head feeling as if it were going to explode. If I walked out of this battle with only a migraine, I would be a very lucky person.

"Icicle!" Genis' spell shot up from the bottom of the earth, incasing the giant insect in its own crystal. Good job Genis. You would've gotten a thumb-up had you not frozen part of my ARM with that attack. I glared at the half-elf, turning on my side and using my dagger to carefully carve away at the ice. "Sorry!" Genis apologized afar, a new rune under his feet.

"No problem," I replied angrily, breaking my arm free. Why couldn't he freeze my foot? That would've been ten times easier to break out!

Colette spun in her own circle. "Ray Whirlwind!" she cried, batting away the second ladybug. I raised myself to my feet, following Kratos' advice and observing my surroundings. _Alright, so, there the Cockatrice, Kratos, and Lloyd, there's a ladybug frozen, there another one being fought off by Colette, meaning the third one is-_

An eruption met the back of my head, knocking me right back to the ground, as a ladybug landed a few feet in front of me. _Right there. Got it._

I scrambled to my feet, grabbing my sword from my side. I could totally beat this thing. It was in the Pokemon equivalent of paralyzed. And it just hit me in the back of the head. I really wanted to skewer the thing, decapitate it, and place its head on a pike. Or maybe just kill it. Either one works. Raising my sword in front of me, I threw all my strength into my arms. The point of the sword made contact with the shell of the ladybug and halted only a few inches into the creature. I grimaced, and attempted to push my weight into the blade. Then the ladybug woke up.

The ladybug took off flight, raising high into the air, my _sword_ still in its base. "Damn it!" I swore loudly. So, he just totally stole my weapon. I was screwed.

I turned around, looking for the assistance of one of my friends. The others had almost finished their battles, each about to give the finishing strike. Meaning I was falling behind, once more. I _hated_ that.

"Come on, you big ugly bug..." I muttered. Hopefully, the ladybug would attack me, and somehow miss. If it did that, I would be able to yank my sword out when it paused, and then... Well, I hadn't worked out that part of the equation. It come to me in time.

The ladybug just… stared at me, like I was fresh out of an asylum. Then it did something that I really didn't count on at all. Just as I was preparing to yell out "Protective Aura," the ladybug turned face, increasing altitude before it _flew away_.

I gaped at the sky, eyes widened. My mind had turned a little fuzzy suddenly, in its attempts to understand what just happened. After a long thought out second, I yelled out, "NO!"

I searched the range of the sky relentlessly, seeking a sign of the stupid insect. Only trees, rocks, grass, clouds, and very dark birds came into my view, and a clenched my fists at my side. I thought it was bad when my tonfa burned up, but this... Alright, I could deal with a Boss destroying my weapon but a ladybug purloining my sword? Forget my own dignity, what would Kratos-

"Alexa, where is your sword?"

-say.

Rubbing my eyes, I blinked once, twice, before looking at Lloyd, Genis, Colette, Raine, then Kratos. Trying to shadow the embarrassment, I focused my attention on the individual blades of grass. "I-I think…" I started, my voice hoarse. I lifted a finger, pointing high to the sky. "That ladybug flew off with it."

* * *

**I could just imagine "Off-Key" playing during this... Hahaha.  
**


	18. Boomerang Effect

**Heya! So, I finally was able to type up another chapter... After running out of episodes of Angel to watch. T.T Either way, here's the fresh new chapter, which is a bunch of trying to get through some needed events. Yeah, I'll make sure they've gotten to and through some seals soon... I'm waiting for another inspiration rush. That and time - summer assignments KILL.**

**The Eccentric Otaku: Hey, nice to see you again! Haha, ladybugs are totally evil. I thought, since they were part of the hard path root, that they deserved some sort of recognition. Hehe... Thanks for the review, as always! :D**

**Whatsername427: Best way of losing a sword is that and maybe leaving it at an Inn. Not good ideas, either way... Thanks too for the review!**

**Big Boss 01: Shad, your new usename is STILL driving me insane. ;P Sorry bout the filler chapter... Getting through some needed event... Thanks for the review again!**

**Alrighty, onward to the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah... I don't own Tales of Symphonia. Ta ta!**

The silence that followed my explanation was deafening, as my own competence was being questioned. I stuffed my hands into each pocket, rocking back and forth on my heels. Maybe the ladybug would have a sudden bloodthirst and come back to attempt killing me. If that happened, I might have the chance of getting my sword back…

"A ladybug flew off with your sword?" Kratos repeated, no hints of anger or annoyance in his voice.

I nodded weakly, making every attempt not to look back up. Kratos "hmmed," his arms crossing over his chest. Yeah, I looked back up. I was sorta concerned that Kratos was going to skin me for loosing me sword. The usual.

Lloyd whistled a pitch-descending tune. "That isn't too good," he pointed out, the palm of his hand rubbing against his hairline. "The enemies were hard- I mean, not beginning level-" His head swerved a bit to Kratos, gauging no reaction. "-to start with, and not having a weapon-"

"Is asking for a most certain death."

Kratos pinched the bridge of his nose, mildly shaking his head. "I could always lend Alexa my chakram!" Colette piped, her voice bright. "It'll all be okay if we each have a weapon, right?"

"Cho- no, Colette," Raine corrected, a small smile on her face. "You must use your own weapons, in order to protect yourself. We cannot afford to lose our Chosen of Mana."

If this scene was going to play again, I was going to barf. I mean, seriously. How many times would I have to hear "Alexa is not worth as much as anyone else on our team and therefore is expendable, whether it meant we can shove her up a Renegade Shaft, get kidnapped by an assassin, or even send her off to "save" Lloyd's life."

…A ladybug flying off with your sword puts you in a bad mood, alright? I was waiting for my break.

"Oh…" Colette sighed, disappointed. She linked her hands together, twiddling her thumbs before her eyes lit up once more almost instantaneously. "Maybe Lloyd could lend her a sword!" she glowed. "Right, Lloyd?" Colette stared at the silent teenager, and quickly tapped him on the shoulder. "Lloyd?"

The dual swordsman's daze was broken almost immediately. "What? Oh, um, I g-"

"Lloyd's skill in the arts of wielding his swords are already lacking as they stand."

"Hey!"

"If we are to take away one of his swords, we might as well be taking away his entire weapon," Kratos explained, ignoring Lloyd's glare. "Without familiarity, a fighter stumbles in blind, weak prey for the kill."

No help there either. "Maybe we could just find the ladybug…" Lloyd suggested in the awkward silence, breaking apart the tension.

"We won't be able to make it to Luin before sundown if we spend time tracking a ladybug," Raine reasoned.

"The most favorable option would be to continue traveling to Luin, making an effort to avoid any enemies that might be of higher skill level than ourselves," Kratos suggested. Raine nodded in response.

"Agreed. But for this trip… Alexa, do you still have your dagger?"

"My da- oh, my dagger!" I realized, reaching for my belt. I pulled back the hilt, the metal flashing against the rays of the sun before I returned it to its scabbard. "Yep, I got it, and it looks like it's in fairly good condition," I surmised, patting the case against my hip.

"Very well." Kratos turned to Colette. "Chosen, shall we go?"

"Yes," Colette said definitely, a smile on her face. One by one, we began to depart, Kratos leading the way into the thick forest.

"You couldn't just be a flunkie from the Palmacosta Academy, no, you have to be a complete moron when it comes to holding your stupid sword right!" If Genis didn't shut up, I was going to steal his kendama and beat him with it. At least then I'd have a weapon… Even if it wasn't a sword, it still would be-

My thoughts paused, and I wondered why I was so distressed by a sword I had never wanted.

**:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;**

"Oh… my… goodness…"

My foot stopped on the wooden bridge, steps echoing to the bottom of the structure. It was just insane. This entire… city. Town. Place. Fortress. Whatever. It was merely… I was awestruck.

The City of Hope was a beautiful place at night.

At the moment we had entered the town, we arrived at the west entrance, where the fountain was. After the slight dilemma of my lost sword, we had gotten behind schedule, and arrived at Luin right after the sun set. In the twilight, the candles had already between lit, as well as the lanterns circling the fountain. Hues of purple and green spread across the waters surface, inviting faeries to dance upon its surface. If they did exist, I'm sure they would've.

"Mr. Kratos," Raine started. The mercenary diverged his attention from the plain statue placed in the middle of the fountain, his eyes wiped clean. "You've been here before, correct?"

"A few times," Kratos replied simply.

"Could you lead us to the Inn?"

Kratos' face blanked, looking as if he had been smacked across the face. After being demoted to tour guide, the once mercenary stiffened his neck, his movements around the fountain connected and smooth. "The Inn is this way, on the other side of the town," he informed us. "If any of you get lost, you know where you're to go."

"We're all going to be traveling together, right?" Lloyd asked, confused. "So, none of use should get lost, right?"

"It's still dark," Genis reasoned. "And with that assassin trying to get Colette, nothing is definite. For all we know, she might come and pick us off one by one."

"…Do you think she was able to follow us to here?" Lloyd asked, a bit nervous.

"I doubt it," Raine replied. "Even if she were tracking us now, she would have to be considerably behind, especially since…" Raine paused.

"Since what?" Lloyd questioned, cocking his head.

"We tied her up and left her in the Inn's supply closet," Kratos informed us. Lloyd's jaw hit the ground, and even Genis let out a girly whimper. Colette… She looked a little horrified herself, but only probably because she was convinced Sheena was her best friend for life.

"You locked her in a closet?" I repeated, trying to hid my own awe. Kratos replied with one stiff nod, setting off my groan. "Great. I don't think she's going to forgive us for that one."

"She's tried to kill us, two times," Raine reasoned with a dead tone as we started crossing the bridge. "I think we have reason enough to not grant her courtesy."

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

"I forgot how nice it was to have a bed," I sighed euphorically, hitting my head against the pillow. Soft pillow… Nice pillow…

Lloyd grinned, pulling his red gloves over his hands. "Aren't you coming to training?"

"Sorta lost my sword," I reminded him, opening a single eye. "Besides, I'm taking a break. One can take only so much of Kratos each day."

"Alright," Lloyd sighed. "Just don't cry to me if he gets mad."

"Okeydokey," I replied, shutting my eyes. Lloyd's footsteps echoed against the Inn's wooden floor as he traveled to the opposite side of the room. The doorknob clicked, the old brass protesting as it was being turned. Soon enough, Lloyd had exited the room, leaving me to peace and quiet.

I smiled. "Finally… One night to rest… To relax…" I grabbed onto the sheets, beginning to pry them out from underneath me. It was a bit of a chilly night – a nice change in comparison to the Triet Desert a week back. The only down side was I lacked sleeves, and that made the world of a difference. Either way, I wasn't in need of new clothes. The ones I wore were still fairly new, and in tact. I had to learn how to sew though… That would become very useful if I wanted to mend my own clothes…

"_Alexa, are you there?"_

I moaned. _"Here and trying to get some sleep,"_ I thought, keeping my eyes shut.

"_Good. I need to speak to you, as soon as possible. Can you open your window for a moment, dear? I need to speak to you face to face."_

"_I don't think that's a good idea," I argued. "Last time that happened, you gave me some magical powers, knocked me out unconscious, and left me with a nasty migraine."_

"_If you do, I'll give you a bowl of ice cream."_

I chewed on my lip. _"What flavor?"_

"_Green Tea."_

"_Deal."_

I pushed off the covers, neatening my hair with one hand as I opened the window with the other. A sea of sparkles washed in, lighting up the dim room before they materialized the familiar women in front of me. "Ta da," she announced, a smile on her face. "Your ice cream, as promised," she smiled, handing out a very tiny bowl. I took it from her, using the metal spoon to devour the luxury.

"I forgot how good ice cream is!" I cried, taking another bite.

"I'm sure you have. Alexa, may I see your arm?"

"Um, sure…" I held out my left arm in front of her. The pale woman hovered her hands above my arm, floating up and down my forearm. "What are you doing?"

"Checking your mana signature for any irregularities," she responded. Suddenly, she whipped out from underneath her sleeve something… metallic, followed by a stinging pain.

"Ow!"

"And now I'm drawing blood to run tests in Sybak," she followed, the syringe filling. She pulled it away, and announced, "All done."

"Tell the Wonder Chef I said hi," I sighed, rubbing the lightly bleeding spot.

"The Wonder Chef?" She blinked. "You've met him?"

"Once, in Hima. He was trying to teach Raine how to cook and pretty much quitted. Also, I hope that needle is clean, because all I really need to catch AIDS in Sylvarant."

My Muse smiled. "That would be a feat. Alexa, I must leave now, but before I do, I must tell you something important."

"Like your name?" I asked hopefully, and she only smiled.

"No. If you ever want to speak to me, you must be touching the stone. Skin, hair, nails, whatever is a part of you. As a consequence, however, if anyone else is touching the stone, they will hear the message as well."

"Meaning, I can't lose it?"

She nodded. "Pretty much."

I snapped into a salute. "Aye aye Captain Mary!"

My Muse rose an eyebrow. "Mary?"

"Well… You've never given me your name, so I figured I'd just call you Mary."

My Muse shook her head, stepping back for the window. She raised her hand to the outside, the moonlight hitting the tips of her fingers. "Liliana."

I blanched. "What?"

"That's my name. Liliana," she repeated. "Alexa dear, I shall see you soon." In an entourage of sparkles, she disappeared once more, her leave through the open window.

Cold air rushed into the room, and I sighed, closing the same window I had just opened a few minutes ago. "Liliana… Huh…" I muttered, before collapsing onto my bed.

**:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;**

Waking up in the morning wasn't always a pleasant experience. Waking up to someone shaking you wasn't the best either. Worst was when you woke up after crash-landing on a wooden floor. This, of course, includes being flipped out of your covers with absolutely no warning at all in the middle of sleep.

I inched my head up, trying to make out the figure in the dark. "Who's there?" I whispered, trying to find my dagger.

"You weren't at training."

Oh, Kratos. Figures. "Yeah, I thought that I wouldn't be able to participate in training after loosing my sword. Along with that, I was really looking forward to some sleep-"

"Come with me."

I got to my feet, not arguing at all. Kratos didn't sound like a happy camper at the moment, and I really didn't want to be the source of any additional irritation. After slipping on my white boots, I silently followed the auburn haired mercenary, hands stuffed in each pocket.

After leaving the Inn, Kratos led me past the town gates, to a clearing past the city gates. It was really dark still… The moon was still out. If I had to guess, it was somewhere near 3 in the morning. Leave it to Kratos to find a nice punishment.

"Do you have your dagger?"

"Um, yes," I replied nervously. "Please tell me your not going to make me fight with it…" I eyed Kratos sword.

"I'm not."

I paused. "Seriously?"

"You haven't used your new technique since you've obtained it, Dragon's Breath," Kratos started, voice patronizing. "While it is a new skill, it holds some power in it that would be useful if you could harness control."

"…And you're going to teach me how to do that?" I asked.

"If you don't learn how to control it, it is very likely you will try using it one day and injure everyone else in the group," Kratos elaborated. "Dragon's Breath is partly a magic based skill. All that is required from you is concentration, mana, and a focus point, in this case, your dagger. Teaching you the basic techniques is using your mana will be the goal of the next few training sessions."

My eyes lit up. "Does that mean I don't have to go to sword training any more?"

Kratos pinched the bridge of his nose. "Take out your dagger. Lets begin."

Following the spandex mercenary's instructions, I grabbed onto the scabbard and took out the dagger. The metal hissed against the sheath, and the drawn blade glinted in the moonlight. "Now, hold your dagger in front of your body, pointing in the direction you wish to aim your attack." I did as I was told, lifting my arm perpendicular to my body and aiming it straight in front of me. "Now, do you remember the words you chanted when you last used Dragon's Breath?"

"Um…It was… Dragon's Breath?"

"Incorrect, you used a phrase before that."

"I did?"

Kratos sighed. "When you use techniques that have both magic and weapon use required, phrases to prepare your mind are useful in the beginning. It will eventually get to a point where all you shall have to do is say the name of the technique, but before that comes practice."

"Hokay then," I nodded slowly.

"Now, begin gathering mana."

I closed my eyes, following yet another order. Reaching for mana wasn't really the easiest thing for me. Not growing up with mana had taken away the "second nature" advantage that the others had. The largest problem was finding the source of mana before I ever managed to use it.

I concentrated, searching my hardest for the small source. Something nudged, deep in my heart, and I pulled what I could from the knot of energy.

"Use the mana you have taken, and focus it through your arms, into your blade," Kratos droned. I let out a breath, the small sensation of power beginning to rush through my arms. It rammed into my dagger, the magic vibrating the metal. "Alright. Now, imagine the stream of fire blazing from the tip of your blade, and bellow out the chant."

"Watch this…" I rumbled, my arm locking in place. My eyes snapped open, and as the wind began to pick up from underneath my feet, I called out, "Dragon's Breath!"

The hilt of my dagger suddenly became really hot, searing hot. I dropped the weapon immediately, waving my hand in the air as a small puff of smoke extracted itself from the blade.

Individual blades of grass were singed, and half of the blade had been scorched. I heard Kratos let out an agitated sigh, along with his hand slapping against his forehead. "Um… oops?" I said sheepishly. "I think I did something wrong."

"Your control over mana is lacking," Kratos stated bluntly. "You didn't withdraw enough power in the beginning, nor did you direct all of it to your blade. And when you tried releasing it, it wasn't in the tip of the blade, thus you never were able to actually release the attack."

"…Right."

Kratos kicked up the dagger, fluidly catching it by the hilt. "Try that again," he said, handing me the blade. I took it back, closing my eyes and reaching for my mana. _Not going to get too little…_ I chanted to myself. The power pulsed back through my arms, redirecting to my blade.

_So much… power…_ "Watch this… Dragon's Breath!"

The mana imploded in my face, a huge cloud of smoke puffing around my body. I flew back onto the ground, coughing up a fit, my hand red from where the dagger had burned me.

Kratos made a face. "This is going to be a nuance…"

**;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:**

I seriously was starting to hate Kratos, with a burning passion. Any time now, I was going to found the "we-hate-Kratos" club. Then I would get killed after Kratos found out I founded that group. Tongue twister, a bit.

As the sun came over the horizon, I was trudging into the Inn, mind and body exhausted. Dragging my feet against the ground, I pushed open the door to mine (and Lloyd's) room, and collapsed onto the bed.

Lloyd looked across the room. "Alex?"

"Morning Lloyd," I moaned, turning onto my back. "I'm going to get some sleep… Wake me up when we're leaving."

"We're leaving right now."

My eyes snapped open. "Come again?"

"Um, we went to the Church of Martel of Luin. They told us the key for the Tower of Mana is with another one of their priests, all the way in Asgard. Raine thinks it'll be a two day walk at worst, and wants to leave as soon as we can."

Asgard… Huh. The town with a vague reference to Norse Mythology. Tales of Symphonia seemed to have a bunch of mythological references, sorta like Golden Sun. Ymir Forest, Asgard… There was more, just couldn't pull them from my mind. I know that Ragnorak was that huge flaming sword thing from Golden-

I slapped my head. "Shoot! I forgot to replace my sword!" I reached from my satchel, digging through the few contents I owned. I found my pouch, the one I usually kept my Gald in, and frowned. "I'm broke…" I moaned. "Crap."

"Oh! I almost forget!" Lloyd went behind his bed, pulling out two shiny… _things_. "When I went out training with Kratos, we found these outside a weapons store. Looks like the owner was having trouble selling them… Anyway, I thought you could use them, and considering you already knew how to use them…" Lloyd shrugged. "Hey, it's better than nothing."

I swung my legs over the bed, skipping over to Lloyd. "Lloyd, you're the best!" I cheered, jumping over and throwing my arms over him. Lloyd tensed very suddenly, jabbing his palm against my shoulder, and pushing me back very abruptly. My eyebrows furrowed, and the red clad teenager shook his head.

"It's… no problem," he said. "I'll tell the others your back. We'll be leaving soon, so, um, don't take long."

I nodded slowly, as the swordsman stepped around and through the exit of the room. _Confused… I didn't think Lloyd would act so disconnected from a hug…_ I shrugged, grabbing onto the two leather sheaths and clipping them to my belt. These things had to get a new name, like boomerang. Sure, they were made of metal instead of wood, and slightly longer, but it was still the same to me. Not lethal, just very cold and slightly difficult to make any damage with.

It wasn't the best thing in the world, but having a pair of tonfa strapped to my waist felt a hell lot better than a sword.

**The tonfa are back! Speaking of which, I made myself a very nice pair of sparring tonfa from PVC pipe and insulator foam... And Miss Muse finally got a name that wasn't "Mary" or "Maria!" Finding the right name for her was a pain...**

To anyone that reads, Vestige is probably getting an update within the next week. PROBABLY. Hopefully...


	19. Where It Doesn't Get Better

**I hope that no one here will kill me.  
**

**All I can say is sorry. I've been tied up with school. Life. To anyone who cares, I haven't been updating lately because I've been working my rear hind off in school. A bit more than normal people usually do, actually. Cliff-notes version, there's a college I really want to go to. And the only way I can do that is by keeping a pristine record. And even with those efforts, I'm not so sure if I'll get past the auto-denials of their application pools.**

**Riggght. So, how have you guys been?**

**~Fukachi no Rin **

_It's really cold._

I fidgeted underneath my bedspread, tossing the covers over my head. Without the ability of the frigid air entering through the top of the pill-sleeping bag, I was pretty sure that gaining a few hours of sleep would now grow in possibilities. We had traveled yet another day, heading towards the wonderful town of Asgard. One more day of near death had past, and it was the time for sleeping, still fearing for our lives. Traveling sucked.

I grumbled, tossing once more onto my left side. I never understood how people could sleep on their sides. I tried once, twice, maybe a few times to see if it helped my sleeping at all. Despite my best attempts, I always woke up either on my back or with my side feeling sore as hell. It would remain another mystery of the world that always would exist to perplex me...

Something stiff nudged against my hip, antithesis to a soft tap. "Wake up."

"Go screw yourself Kratos," I grumbled in dismay. "I'm trying to sleep."

Followed by my response were a few light footsteps, followed by the lifting of my sleeping bag. Before I had a chance to scream, or react, I had been dumped out of my bedspread, face first in the dirt, my stomach feeling as if I had landed on a rock. Maybe because I had landed on my backpack. What did I carry in that thing...?

"Let me make myself clear, Miss Alexa Embers," Kratos stated, dark eyes glaring. "When I ask you to awaken, it is a gesture of courtesy. It is none of my concern if you wish to comply – that is not my issue. You _will_ treat me with respect, _do __I __make __myself __clear?_"

I nervously gulped. "Y-yes sir."

Kratos nodded stiffly. "Good," he replied, tossing my bed spread onto the ground. Without any further acknowledgement, he turned on his heels, pacing to the extinguished fireplace. Smoke still rose to the dark sky, the moon still high in the night. Night... We only set up camp an hour or so ago...

Followed by a bark, Noishe appeared from behind a distant hill, a hint of silver and brown behind his head. He halted in front of Kratos, bashing his head nervously against the stoic mercenary's shoulder. Dismounting from Noshie's back, Lloyd walked up to Kratos, making no acknowledgement of my presence.

"You were right," he said coolly, hand placed instinctively on one sword. "There's a bunch of Ogres heading this way – three or four of them."

"They probably smelled the meat we roasted earlier." Raine appeared from behind the thick forest, her hand guiding Colette. "Ogres are not the smartest of all creatures, but once they gather the scent of fresh meat..." Raine made a face, her hand pressing against the base of her chin. "Will we have to fight them?"

"There is a chance, unless we set off for some means of shelter." Without further elaboration, Kratos looked over Noishe's head. "How is your mana level?"

Genis gave a uncertain response. "I have some left, but it's not enough to complete any spells..."

"Oh! I have an orange gel!" I dug into my pockets, pulling out the orange gelatin disk. "I know it tastes yucky and has been in my pocket, but it's better than nothing, right?"

Genis made a face, but took the medical assistant nevertheless. "Why do I need mana?"

Raine cocked an eyebrow, also questioning the mercenary's methods. "There is a cliff not far from here," Kratos elaborated, his hand rested at the hilt of his sword. "Once we reach there, we can have you carve into the stone and burn our scents with other magic." A glint passed over Kratos' eyes. Sounded like the old man had done this before.

"When you say fire magic..." I preceded, my voice barely a mutter.

"I will be the one casting the spell," Kratos answered bluntly. Right. No fire for Alexa. I should've known. "Chosen."

Collete's head bobbed to the side. "Yes?"

"You are to ride with Lloyd on the _dog_..." Kratos ordered with little hesitation. Colette turned to face Lloyd, greeting him with a warm smile. Noishe lowered his back right with time, and the two climbed onto the protazoan's back. "Lloyd, no harm is to come to the Chosen, _do __I __make __myself __clear?_"

Lloyd gave one firm nod, oblivious to Colette's tight grip on his upper arms. "Miss Sage, if you will take the lead, I will guard the end, in case our guests decide to appear."

Raine nodded as well, her fingers white around her staff. Genis, without any hesitation, devoured the Orange Gel, scampering next to Lloyd with his kedama drawn out in hand. I gave Kratos an earnest look. "What do you want me to do, Kratos?"

Kratos inched his head to the side. "Do not get in the way," he warned, patience thin. I shook my head nervously, hands wrapped around the handle of my tonfa. Blurry-eyed, head pounding, arms sore... I'd be a ridiculously opponent if an ogre managed to sneak up on us now.

The group of us began to move at a steady pace, Raine's orb of light guiding the front, Kratos protecting the back. My hands rested uneasily at the grips of my tonfa. As the Earth began to tremor beneath our feet, the fast pace evolved into a quick sprint.

Electricity crackled at Kratos's hand, and scarce of a chant, the magic pulsed from his outstretched fingers, directed towards the thick forest behind us. The sickening sound of trees snapping filled the air, followed by the collapsing of every oak and maple behind us.

Before I could make a smart-alec remark about trees and advocating naturalists, Genis's panicked remarks filled the air. "Isn't that going to lead them straight to us?"

"They're already on our trail," Raine explained to her younger brother. "Any efforts to block their path would more than helpful."

Kratos came to a sudden halt, the end of his sword flat against his hand. Colette spun her head, eyes wide. "Mr. Kratos!"

"Keep going!" Kratos roared harshly. "I'll keep them busy."

Lloyd swore angrily, looking Colette in the eyes. His lips moved, and next thing I knew, he had jumped off Noishe, his swords escaping his sheaths with a sharp hiss. He took position next to Kratos, his weapons ready for battle.

"Lloyd-"

"Listen, you're not going to be able to hold them off all by yourself. Complain all you want; you're part of the team and you should know by now I don't abandon my friends."

I half expected Kratos to death-glare at his son, except he didn't. Instead, a smile touched his face, and he hid his eyes under his bangs. "Do as you wish."

And then something very scary happened. Suddenly, the ogres didn't seem like that much of a threat. Mana pulsed in what felt like a good mile radius, the tremor rippling through the Earth. It was much more than what Kratos had ever used – cripes, I couldn't even sense mana, and I was feeling THIS.

We were still running, but I kept looking back. I couldn't care less if I hit a tree – I cared more about Lloyd and Kratos, if those two would be alright, if my _friends_...

My mind numbed in those thoughts as it continued to watch those processes.

A shadow, dark and large, loomed from the deeper part of the forest, making its direct path to Kratos and Lloyd. I sucked in a breath. Damn. The pits of its orange eyes glowed brightly in the darkness. Nothing but malicious intent filled those two illuminated gems, and there were coming closer... closer...

"_Grave!"_

The mana tore through the soil of the Earth, a combination of stray rocks and stalagmites tearing up in front of the ogre. The enemy rebuked, and with a club in hand, stoke the rocks at the center. Dust clouds spread away from the once existing shield, and the ogre resumed its path. Lloyd, his swords gripped before his torso, leaped into the air, a stream of mana following his circular path. _"__Tiger __Blade!__"_ Lloyd's first sword sliced into the edge of the ogre's club, and his other grazed the ogre's shoulder. The ogre stumbled; Lloyd sprung from his feet again, this time, rising high above the Ogre.

"_Tempest!"_

In a split second, he had spun from the ground up to the top of the ogre's head. He brought down both swords at the forehead, a well aimed final blow.

Before he could finish his attack, he was stopped. Midair, his swords were jammed in the middle of the ogre's club, frozen in place. An grotesque fist made contact with Lloyd's side, crushing the swordsman straight to the ground. Lloyd let out a grunt, as the weaponless swordsman could only do in his pain, as the ogre lurched to stomp on his stomach.

"_Lloyd!"_

I spun on my heels, hands at the hilt of the tonfa. Snapping my entire body around, I launch myself into the battle's direction. I didn't know what to do... All I _could_ do is react, react to what was happening.

And then there was pain.

It was the most unexpected, especially since I was sure ogres couldn't use magic. Then I remember, oh shit, not a video game, this is real life. My bad. Guess I can't turn off the friendly fire. Either way, there was a strong wave of electricity coursing its way through my veins, coming from the exact same person who had simultaneously managed to rescue a limp teenager and in their arms and rescue him from the clutches of death. Only if Kratos was wearing blue and red – I could start playing the Superman theme for him.

...If he wasn't launching Lightning at me.

I collapsed to my knees, tonfa collapsing to the ground. Metal conducts electricity. Life freaking sucks. Next came my hands, to balance my body weight. There was an amazing amount of pain in my arms now, from the electrical shock, and pain wasn't good. The best thing I could do was gasp for air as I stared wide-eyed at the ground.

"Embers!" Kratos barked. "If you do not stay back, you pray to the Goddess I don't cut you down myself!"

I pushed myself back to my feet, still gasping for air. Then I glared. It is directed to none other than Kratos, and it is well deserved past it's time. I'm still gasping for air when I stumble back onto my feet, and tears are clouding my eyes after I pick up my tonfa and run after the rest of the Chosen's group.

"Alex, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Colette," I hissed back, obviously lying. I couldn't help it, in all the hatred, the anger I was experiencing. If Kratos wanted to fight by himself, fine. He could more than handle some pesky ogres. But if Lloyd got hurt... Then... I used the sleeve of my shirt to wipe away a few tears.

"We're here."

We were stopped right at the base of a cliff, where Genis took position front and center. A slightly orange rune appeared beneath his feet, and the half-elf began his magic, carving away deeply into the rock. The mana was dancing, from the bottom of his feet and angled to the edge of the cliff. In a few seconds, Genis already dug an entrance point into the cliff, small enough to fit a single person through.

"I'm digging out a hollow, Sis," Genis explained, sweat trickling down his brow. He was staring so seriously at the rock, as if it would explode if he broke his intensity. I took in a breath, turning back around at our path. The ground was still quaking, from what I could only assume to be the raging battle taking place between a spandex clad mercenary and two-plus ogres.

I fingered the top of my tonfa subconsciously. If worse came to worst, we probably could manage to fight off the ogres... Yeah, if Raine cast a few Photons, Collete attacked with her feathers and Genis... managed to cast some spells without getting killed. Which meant, in worst case scenario, I would be stuck at the frontlines, trying not to get killed. Joy.

"Done!" Genis yelped, resting his hands on his knees. "I'm about to burn our scent... You guys might want to get out of the way..."

"Don't overdo it, Genis," Raine spoke, her voice strained. Genis bobbed his short head once, straightening his posture. A deep ruby rune appeared beneath his feet, the mana glowing around his young figure. "Alexa, Colette. You two should take shelter in the cave."

I looked at Raine quizzically. "Shouldn't someone get Kratos and Lloyd? Before we hide away?"

A blaze shot from Genis' kedama, forming a semi circle around us and the cliff. "They'll be able to find us on their own time. The most important task now is making sure Colette is safe," Raine answered, her voice still tight. "Colette, please go first."

Colette smiled dutifully, hopping off of Noishe's back before she crouched in front of the small crawl space. It was about... Three feet high, and very dark. Like, monster-in-you-closet dark. Okay. Kinda creepy. The Chosen dipped one foot into the mouth of the cavern, and slipped into the orifice, completely disappearing into the umber. With a bit of hesitation, I poked my toe into the entrance, feeling no solid ground beneath the sole of my feet, and pulled back. "Don't worry Alex; it's fine in here! Although it's a bit dusty..." Colette echoed, her voice cheerful. I let out a sigh, and hanging both feet over the edge, I slipped into the cave.

"Ow... Rock..."

"You okay, Alex?"

"Just fine, Colette... I think I stepped on rock though..."

"Oh..."

Raine's voice sounded from above. "We're coming down; clear the entrance."

"Okeydokey, Professor!" I called back, moving further back into the space. I hit something – the wall of the cave, I hoped. Listening carefully to the noises, I heard the shuffling of people, descending into the cavern. There were four of them, and I wondered if I miscounted until the next voice spoke.

"Colette? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Lloyd," Colette reassured. "How are you?"

"Don't worry about me," Lloyd partly laughed. "I just got a bit of a scratch, that's all."

"Lloyd, will you get your hand off my shoulder?" Genis demanded, causing Lloyd's laugh to become uneasy.

I finally spoke. "Lloyd, how in the world are you even walking? Weren't you just unconscious?"

The air grew more still, as Lloyd's laugh faded away into the nothing There was just breathing. Everyone's breathing, clear as a bell in the cave. And one person in particular's was very tensed. "I woke up. It wasn't a serious injury."

"Okay – just clarifying," I replied stiffly, trying to ignore the lifelessness in his voice. Someone (Kratos or Raine...) shushed us, at the moment the vibrations of a moving mass hit us. Taking a deep breath, I started counting to ten. There was still a deep rumble from above – the ogres were still on the loose. And things were feeling dim.

The pounding from the footsteps was growing stronger – had Genis did a well enough job burning away our scent? The little half-elf was still fairly new to magic, and perhaps his control slipped somewhere. If that was the case, either Kratos or myself (assuming I didn't explode from overuse of mana when trying to cast Dragon's Breath) could double-check with a quick spell. I opened my mouth, forming the question in my lips, when my blood ran cold. At the entrance of the cave, a pair of bright orange eyes glared through, scanning what it could make out for its prey.

My knees wobbled under my weight, as a cool sweat gathered at my forehead. Hell, despite the fact they were _searching_, I could feel the gaze penetrating my body. I sucked in another breath, pushing my back closer and closer to the wall. Someone – close to me, probably about an inch or so away – was doing the same. The ogre exhaled, its rancid breath filling the air of the cave, and if it weren't for me being so afraid, I would've hurled right there.

It started at us for what felt like hours – no, years. And like nothing had happened, it turned and stomped away. My brain turned right back on, letting me sigh in relief, and I tried to reach for the sweat on my forehead when something stopped me.

_Oh..._

During the time of our wait, I had latched onto the arm of the person standing next to me. They were tense, I could tell, but I had no idea if it was from my hold or from the near attack of the ogre. Gently, I pulled myself away, the scent of the leather jacket brushing my nose.

For a few seconds, I was unsure whether or not to care.

;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;

Destroyed. Much of it gone. Demolished. Charred. Damaged.

That was the scene we came to in Asgard.

Hotels blown ablaze, flames licking the tops of the cliffs. Other buildings had lost two and a half of their once walls. The huge inn, the ostentatious one in the back of Asgard that cost a ridiculous amount to stay in – yeah, that looked like one of those dollhouses you could split through the middle. Except it was missing a half.

And the wind only got stronger.

Collete reacted first of everyone in the group, her feet tapping against the stone staircase. When she was halfway up the stairs, Lloyd decided to panic, reaching out his hand while beckoning out to the young blond. "Collete, wait!"

Colette stopped in front of the remains of the produce store, her eyes fixed through the space left between the off-the-hinge door and stone wall. "There's someone in here – I can hear them!" Colette rushed into the store, and after an "oops," crash, and puff of smoke, another panic fit erupted from Lloyd.

"Colette!"

"I'm okay! I just tripped..."

Lloyd ran in after her, and the four of us behind trailed up the stairs. This place was an ugly scene. Lots of destroyed buildings. Lots of burning buildings. Lots of wind. And no people. As if this place had been or war zone... "Mr. Aurion... How likely is it that this is the handiwork of Desians?"

Kratos turned warily to Raine, his eyes dark. "Not very. Desians destroy all in their path, murder many, take many. Their would be far more carnage had they been the aggressors."

"Collete, can you move the door?"

"Okay!"

The door fell straight onto the grass, followed by a distraught Colette and weary Lloyd. With an unconscious person's arms slung over his shoulders. He looked a bit old and ornately dress, kinda like an arch bishop or another person associated with great piety of rel- oh. This can't be good...

Genis looked at his sister, blue orbs wide. "Is that the Priest...?"

Raine scanned over the man, and after tapping her staff against the ground, she circled the mana glow around the unconscious man's head. She was murmuring some sort of incantation, one in a language I could hardly understand... Elven? Watching the subject careful, Raine kept her gaze focused, gauging any reaction. He jerked suddenly, like one of those bodies that had been resuscitated by the ambulance electric pads. His eyes were half opened, unseeing.

"Sir, are you alright?" Raine pronounced clearly to him. Eyes glazed, he pushed his head up, not truly looking for anything. "Sir?"

"The... the caves..." The worn man broke into coughing spasms, and the wind picked up once.

"The... caves?" Lloyd repeated.

"The ancient people of the Balcruf left them behind," I recited from my earlier lessons. "They're also pretty good safehavens for the wind."

"If we were to take refuge there, it would be easier to heal him," Raine added thoughtfully, gesturing to the now unconscious man. That spell only lasted ten seconds. Made me a bit concerned about the abilities of the team healer. Anyway, Kratos nodded, and after placing his hand threateningly on the hilt of the sword, he began to lead. Colette took the Priest's other arm, assisting Lloyd, while I tried not to look so lost.

None of is were speaking, but only because there was nothing to speak about. We made it to Asgard, yes. Or what was left of it. With a whopping population of one citizen. And no dead bodies, surprisingly enough. This place looked like it had been overrun by Desians, and yet, no one was killed? How uncharacteristic was that of the sadistic race of half-elves. Perhaps they were making a change for the good.

We could hope, right?

That hope died a bit when we walked into the cave. No, it wasn't filled with dead bodies. It was filled with live people. Lots of them. Practically the whole population of Asgard. No way in hell Desians were that nice.

As Colette and Lloyd placed the man on the stone floor, the oldest of the citizens, a hunched over man with beady eyes, interrogated us. "Who are you people?"

"Travelers, coming in search of this man," Kratos gestured to the Priest, keeping his voice smooth. "If you'll excuse us, he is badly injured, and we have to tend to his wounds."

"That won't help him. He's good as dead, anyway. We all are. I'm surprised you even made it this far, with that _beast_ wandering around the town." The man shuddered, as if he were reliving a painful memories. "Many are dead, already. And this all would have been avoided if that bastard Linar and his stupid little half-elf friend didn't go blowing up the pedestal-"

"Excuse me," Raine spoke, her staff pouring healing artes over the dying man. "But when you said pedestal-"

"Oh. You're another history fanatic, aren't you?" the old man mocked. "He was too. And look what it's done! He stuck his nose where it didn't belong, and a monster was conjured, demanding the sacrifice of a fair maiden. When his sister was chosen, he snooped around some more, _destroying_ the pedestal in the process, and releasing the monster into the town."

I could feel my eyes widening. "I don't understand," Raine shook her head. "What is this monster you refer to?"

The man laughed, a bitter laugh. "He was a god of their time, the Balcruf's we're sure. An embodied spirit. He originally demanded a sacrifice, over his seal, but now, he just wants to taste our blood." He shook his head. "Once the wind grows stronger, he'll appear. And when that happens... We'll be doomed."


End file.
